Chapter 182: Realisation

Leo returned to his truck, climbing into the driver’s seat and shutting the door. For a while, he just sat in the quiet cabin. Outside, the camp remained relatively calm, though Leo knew the peace was temporary. The Freedom Convoy was gearing up to leave. He leaned back against the headrest and waited.

Around thirty minutes later, the atmosphere shifted. Voices echoed through the area. Rushed footsteps kicked up dust as people hauled their belongings into waiting vehicles.

An engine sputtered to life, followed by another. Soon, the low rumble of idling trucks and cars filled the entire camp. Leo watched through the windshield as the convoy formed an organized line, rolling out through the camp’s exit gates.

In no rush, he observed their departure. Once the final vehicle crossed his line of sight, Leo turned the ignition. The truck roared to life. Shifting gears, he rolled out of the camp, trailing behind the convoy at a safe distance.

Across the compound, after the dust from the convoy settled, a soldier rushed into Adrian’s tent. He snapped into a stiff salute.

"Sir!"

Adrian looked up from his desk.

"The Freedom Convoy has left the camp."

For a brief moment, Adrian sat in silence. He rubbed his chin and let out a heavy sigh.

"Really... it’s a shame."

He leaned back in his chair.

"Looks like my plan backfired this time."

His secretary watched him closely. Adrian shook his head.

"I didn’t know that the hooded guy was hiding inside the Freedom Convoy."

He sighed again.

"I really wanted him to join our clan."

"Instead, I have probably offended him."

A small frown creased his secretary’s face.

"Sir, he is just another superhuman. Why do you place so much importance on him?"

Adrian met her gaze and shook his head.

"He isn’t simply another superhuman."

His expression grew serious.

"His abilities are mysterious, and his methods are strange."

"And more importantly..."

He paused.

"The military has never gained the upper hand against him."

Meeting her silence, Adrian continued.

"I have dedicated an entire elite squad and a group of analysts to study his abilities."

"Until now, we haven’t even come up with a countermeasure."

He offered a bitter smile.

"Hell, we don’t even know what his abilities actually are."

The secretary’s posture shifted. Leaning forward, Adrian kept his eyes locked on her.

"I value him so highly because there are differences between superhumans."

"Not every superhuman is the same."

He gestured toward the distant battlefield.

"In the last battle, I had to use special equipment and a medium just to gather enough power to fight on that battlefield."

"But the Rizen Group..."

"And that hooded guy..."

"They didn’t need any medium."

"They could channel their own powers directly."

Adrian narrowed his eyes.

"And they were strong enough to stand on equal ground with Zeltan and his minions."

"This is why I value that Gregory girl so highly as well."

"The methods of the Gregory Clan could even threaten the Rizen Group."

The room stayed quiet as Adrian pressed on.

"And what about the last attack he used to kill that blood creature?"

"Do you know what kind of weapon it was?"

The secretary shook her head.

"No, sir."

"I already informed headquarters about it. They analyzed the attack."

Adrian tilted his head.

"So, do you know what they said?"

She hesitated.

"They said that the military currently doesn’t have enough firepower to match that kind of attack."

A wry smile crossed Adrian’s face.

"Exactly."

He sank back into his seat.

"The only force in this world that currently possesses that kind of firepower is the Rizen Group."

"According to our informants, even the Rizen Group only possesses a handful of weapons capable of producing that level of destruction."

"They are kept inside the Rizen Group headquarters."

"Last-resort weapons."

"Trump cards."

The humor left his face entirely.

"And even using those weapons comes with terrible consequences for the user."

The secretary’s eyes widened.

"According to the eyewitness reports, the hooded guy used an attack of that level twice during the battle."

"And he didn’t even suffer a scratch."

Adrian let out a low breath.

"Imagine that."

"Something that even the Rizen Group treasures as a trump card..."

"And that guy uses it willingly."

He breathed out deeply.

"This is why headquarters ordered me to recruit him no matter what."

"When I received the report that he was fighting alongside the Freedom Convoy, I went there personally."

"I wanted to show them the military’s strength."

"I wanted that hooded guy to realize that he would be better off joining us."

Adrian rubbed his temples.

"But that plan backfired."

"I failed both of my missions."

"One was to bring the test subject back."

"And the other was to recruit that guy."

The secretary considered this.

"Then, sir... should I send someone after him with a better offer?"

Adrian held up a hand.

"No."

"Leave it."

Surprise flashed across her face.

"But why, sir?"

Adrian stared blankly at the tent wall for a second.

"Before, I failed to realize something."

"A person who possesses weapons that even we don’t have..."

"What exactly can we offer him?"

The secretary had no answer.

"Have you seen that truck of his?"

Adrian gestured in the direction the Freedom Convoy had gone.

"It can change its form."

"It is more advanced than anything we have created so far."

A thoughtful look settled over his features.

"It seems another major force that we don’t know about is behind him."

Her eyes went wide.

"Another force?"

Adrian nodded.

"That’s what I believe."

"And now that I think about it..."

"That also explains why he didn’t care about that newly awakened superhuman he was close to."

"He simply cut him loose and sent that man to us."

The secretary frowned deeply as Adrian continued.

"Before, we clans thought we were all-powerful."

"We believed we controlled most of the world."

"But we couldn’t have been more wrong."

He stared out at the tent’s flaps.

"After the apocalypse descended, one after another, major forces that had previously been hiding began appearing all around the world."

"They didn’t simply care about power before."

"They were waiting."

"Or perhaps..."

His gaze hardened.

"They simply had no reason to reveal themselves."

A heavy silence fell over the room. When Adrian spoke again, his tone was firm.

"This is why we have to stop wasting our time playing schemes against one another."

"We need to focus on increasing our own strength."

"Because if we don’t..."

He caught his secretary’s eye.

"When all of this is over, the grass growing over our graves will be three feet tall."

The secretary gave a grim nod. Leaning back, a new thought struck Adrian.

"What was the name of the superhuman we recruited from the Freedom Convoy’s camp?"

Without missing a beat, the secretary answered.

"Sir, his name is Danny."

Adrian nodded.

"Danny..."

He tapped his desk a few times.

"Keep him close."

"Win his confidence."

"And make sure the insiders of the other clans don’t poach him from us."

"Understood, sir," she said, turning on her heel and exiting the tent.

Left alone in his makeshift office, Adrian allowed a faint smile to cross his lips.

"Just who the hell are you...?"

"Leo?"