Chapter 251: Pure’s Plans

When Layla was assigned to gather information about military base 2, she felt quite lucky that her mission was very simple, and that she was to do so however she needed to.

Pure had many agents spread across different factions and planets, meaning they had eyes nearly everywhere, so a spy role such as hers wasn’t that uncommon. The thing was, this was her first assigned mission, which could be anything.

’They won’t tell me to assassinate someone, what they knew of my previous skill set would make that too dangerous,’ Layla calculated.

Even though Layla was a Pure agent at the heart of the enemy, she had a feeling what they needed to ask her was something that could wait.

Layla got on the bed and laid down, focusing all of her attention on controlling Luke’s body.

—

Erin and the Luke body met up with Peter, Vorden and Fex, who had all finished unpacking. They were in the 2nd building in Erin’s assigned bedroom.

Layla explained everything Logan told her, about the portals, prisons, as well as sending Quinn back to military base 2 to then go to the orange portal planet.

"The problem is that Logan does not know where exactly Quinn is located," Layla stated plainly, "But we know he’s going to be participating in the event."

Peter watched Luke’s body move, and was slightly unsure if whoever was speaking was really Layla, but Erin was adamant it was her, so he kept quiet.

’Her voice is so... flat, and she’s somehow controlling this body?’ Peter thought.

He wasn’t there when Layla evolved, so he didn’t know all the full details as to why her personality changed so much, but it did make him feel inclined not to get turned.

’However, if Erin was able to swap her ability from an ice one to something else, then could that fix my MC limit problem?’ He wondered.

"So, how exactly are we going to get to him?" Fex asked, "The only time we can see him is during the fights, so do we...?"

It was Vorden’s turn to speak, "Sometime between him getting on stage, and him leaving it is when we have to strike."

Peter nervously fidgeted as he listened in, and thought it was incredibly risky. The window of opportunity was brief, and it would be in front of so many people. Not to mention, all of the guards.

Erin noticed Peter’s apprehension to the whole thing, so she turned to him, "We don’t have to swoop in for the first round. Quinn is strong, he’ll win as many rounds as he can. Besides, he won’t stand around doing nothing."

She tapped the side of her head, indicating that she also had the strange power to communicate with him telepathically. The others thought it was certainly unusual, but Erin did somehow become a vampire through a book, so oddities weren’t out of the possibility.

"Hey... uh, Erin," Peter spoke up, "Since you can hear him, can you tell Quinn that I hope he’s okay?"

Since Erin was going to message him anyways, she decided to relay his message.

{Erin} Me, Layla, Fex, Peter and Vorden are going to break you out when you’re in the fighting ring.

{Erin} I’ll send you a signal through the system when we’re ready.

{Erin} Also, Peter is asking if you’re okay.

Inside of a wooden cell hidden within military base 1, Quinn sat on his bed, meditating. His stomach grumbled, and he decided to take that moment to have a break.

Truth be told, he wasn’t doing the best at the moment. The people in charge of tending to his needs neglected their duties, like as if they were afraid of what he could do.

Still, when he got the message on how he was doing, he didn’t want to worry his friends, so he kept the response short.

{Quinn} I’m doing fine enough.

{Quinn} Focus on protecting yourselves first.

{Quinn} I don’t want you to get hurt when you’re trying to come to my rescue.

Erin repeated the information to Peter, and he was satisfied with the answer.

After that, they discussed the more intricate details of the plan. How much they should wait, the best time to act, and what role each person played.

As Peter was listening in on the plan, he wasn’t even sure if he should be involved. The others had far more useful abilities, and if they needed a level 2 earth ability for whatever reason, then Vorden could just copy it.

Despite this, Luke, or what was more accurate, Layla, glanced his way, and nodded.

"He’s your friend too. You should get to save him as well."

—

Back in Layla’s room, the icon of the envelope kept blinking, frequently distracting her. Since they were done discussing what to do, Layla had put Luke away, and could focus solely on herself.

’With nothing else to occupy my mind, I should read that message,’ Layla thought, ’Learning what Pure plans to do at this event may affect how we act.’

She got up and clicked on the envelope icon. Whatever they had in store for her, she was sure they could work around it.

"Agent 83, you have been ordered to either lose as soon as possible, or drop out of the tournament before it starts. Waiting for you after the match is another spy who will help you accomplish your mission. Afterwards, head to the portal room where you will await further instruction."

’Another spy? What is going to happen in the portal room?’ Layla thought.

The news was a little troublesome. Initially, Layla wanted to drop out of her match as soon as possible so she could help the others in person, but if Pure is awaiting her then that puts a wrench in it.

This also made Layla feel conflicted. Was she loyal to Pure, the people she grew up around, and her mother? Or was she loyal to Erin, as well as the friends she’s gained?

’... I can be in two places at once,’ Layla concluded, ’I just need to be smart about this.’

—

Inside of her room, Cia made a few mental notes of all the things she observed of Layla that she thought were suspicious. There was her sudden closeness to Erin, her changes in attitude, as well as a severed body that looked exactly like Layla’s.

It made her wonder if Layla’s loyalty was truly compromised, if she was experimented on without anyone knowing, and what that meant for Pure.

Cia couldn’t report this to Agent 5 just yet, not when she was so close to figuring out the full truth with Peter.

Heading inside of the kitchen where she kept a certain fruit refrigerated, Cia opened up the fridge and stared at the crimson veritas. This will bring her the information she needed.

’This mission is too important to let my feelings get in the way, especially with a world leader involved. I need to use this fruit as soon as possible before its too late.’