Chapter 73: Bob is Evolving, and Leaving for the Mission

Of all the people who could show up in my room, Zaya was the last one I expected. She looked at me and stayed silent for a few seconds.

"I noticed how weird you acted around my cousin Mike," Zaya said as she played with her hair, twirling it around her fingertips, "what did he do to you?"

So she was watching me back then too, just like Zeph. Even if it was only for a second, she noticed something was off.

Even if she asked me straight out, why the hell should I tell her what happened between me and Mike? From the way Zoen talked, showing any hostility toward Mike while staying at their place would be stupid.

"Nothing happened," I replied, "I just thought I’d seen his face before. Mistook him for someone else. That’s all."

Zaya kept playing with the tips of her hair while she watched me.

"Is that so? Too bad, you know," she uncrossed her legs, looking like she was getting ready to stand up, "because I don’t like Mike much either, and if he disappeared from this house, well, it wouldn’t be the worst thing."

A test, or was she serious? I had no idea. And even if she was being serious, I was leaving tomorrow. Unfortunately, finding a way to end Mike’s life would have to wait a bit.

"If you really feel that way," I said, "maybe we can talk about this problem in the future."

Zaya smiled. She walked over to the desk in my room and opened the drawer. She tore a page out of a small notebook inside, then used the pen next to it to write down her cell phone number.

"Text me when you can," Zaya said, "but don’t tell anyone about this."

With that, she left my room, walking slowly with a sway in her hips with every step. Once again, I had to look. That woman really was gorgeous, and at the same time, mysterious.

I didn’t totally buy what she said. What problem did she have with Mike when her brothers seemed to get along with him so well, not to mention her father? Or were they just faking it in front of me?

Anyway, I saved her number and waited to see if Mike would come to my room. He didn’t. I went back to my pocket dimension, checking in quickly on the vampire trapped in my dungeon.

He was still there, not putting up much fight.

"I’ll bring you blood tomorrow," I told him, "I’ll be busy for a few days, so I’d better give you that blood soon before you end up dying."

I heard some thankful noises from the vampire. His condition was so pathetic that I was actually starting to feel bad for him.

I walked into my cabin to rest, and inside I saw Bob. He had already opened the bag of crystals Zoen gave me, and he was already devouring them.

And something had changed about Bob. He started talking to me even without turning into a helmet.

"We can talk like this now," he said, "cool, right? I’m eating so much candy that I’m already getting stronger."

Candy. Those were valuable crystals that were hard to find, and Bob treated them like candy. Well, since he gave me back 10x the amount, I wasn’t going to argue with him. I’d give him as much candy as he needed.

"I heard you talking to that woman," Bob said, "and I could actually understand! What a shitty situation, huh? Want some help taking out that Mike guy?"

Things were way easier now. Keeping Bob in the loop about everything going on would take almost no effort, and having someone to talk to about everything was great too.

"What did you think of the whole situation?" I asked him, "think she’s telling the truth?"

It was weird asking something like that to Bob, a slime who seemed more like a kid that just loved to eat, and that was it.

Still, Bob was the Primordial Slime, which meant he was one of the oldest creatures still roaming around. If anyone had any kind of wisdom, it would be him.

"Hard to say, I only heard her, and I can’t judge her body language," Bob replied, "if I were you, I wouldn’t totally believe her. Humans are liars."

Yeah, Bob had a point there. I vented to him a bit, sharing my problems while lying in bed looking up at the ceiling. Even if he didn’t fully get it, or didn’t even care that much, it was still nice to talk to him and get things off my chest.

I fell asleep without a worry. Being in my pocket dimension kept my mind at ease, but deep down I knew that if someone wanted to break in, it was possible.

The next morning, I took a shower in the luxurious bathroom inside my room. It was downright amazing, and I enjoyed every second of it.

I had breakfast with the rest of the family. To make matters worse, Mike was there. He looked at me several times, which made my blood boil with rage. Bastard.

After breakfast, I went to the office to talk with Zoen. He already had a fake ID ready for me, and the craziest part was the photo of my face, which was just perfect.

"I have an acquaintance with a certain ability, and with that he can recreate things practically identical to the real deal. That’s how I got this photo," Zoen explained to me.

It really was an interesting ability, and something someone tied to assassinations and missions that needed discretion would have. I wasn’t all that shocked.

"So, are you going to take the mission or not? If you are, I’ll give you all the details, and remember, you’ll be rewarded for this. I’m not sending you on a tough mission without being ready to give you a good payout."

I pressed him about the payment, wanting to know how much he was willing to pay. But Zoen still wasn’t sure.

"At least 5,000 monster crystals, plus anything you find interesting from our vault. I might end up paying more than that, or less, depending on how you complete this mission."

That was already good pay. Even if it were just the crystals, honestly it would already be worth the risk considering the 10x multiplier I could get.

"And how much time do I have to complete this mission?"

"Hard to say. You’re going in as an extra guard because of this whole invasion mess. In theory, if this takes a while to end, you’ll be able to stay at the target’s mansion for a pretty long time," Zoen said.

A lot of things really were still up in the air. Nobody knew for sure what would happen in the future because of the situation we were in. Either way, any mission with a payout that good was worth it.

He went over all the details with me. Apparently I’d already been hired online, and I just had to reach the mansion before the scheduled date.

But the target believed I was Canadian because of the fake ID Zoen gave me, and since all flights there were completely canceled, I’d have to cross into the country by land.

"Take this map," Zoen handed me a physical map, "it’s useful so you don’t keep checking your phone all the time. I marked a spot on it. It’s the best way to cross the border without getting caught. We use it all the time. It’s basically a blind spot."

I took the map, along with the papers detailing the target and what I’d be looking for during the mission. I stored everything inside the pocket dimension. This was classified information that nobody else could find out about.

"I’ll get a helicopter to drop you closer to the border. We leave in 1 hour."

Zoen already had everything set, as if he knew I’d take the mission in the end. Anyway, during that 1 hour, I didn’t have much to prepare. I had no luggage or anything like that, so I just chilled around the mansion.

Zack, though, dragged me into a quick bicep workout in his gym before I left... I managed to slip away the other day, but not today. Since it was my last day there, he wanted to get a session in before I took off.

And damn, the workout was intense. The dumbbells were made of special, super heavy materials, essential for physical training for hunters with a high Strength stat.

I felt the blood rushing to my arms, giving me a solid pump. The feeling was great. In the end, agreeing to work out with him wasn’t the worst thing.

Zoen called for me when the helicopter was ready outside.

"Let’s go," he said, "everything’s set."

I nodded and got into the helicopter. Looks like there was no turning back now. I was going to infiltrate Canada. Talk about crazy...