Chapter 169: Will they survive him?

Was Blake confident it wouldn’t hurt?

Not at all.

He still remembered the punch Trail-X had landed on him.

The impact had felt like getting hit by a speeding truck. His ears had rung for several seconds afterward, and for a moment he had genuinely wondered whether his organs had been dislocated.

So no, he wasn’t confident, but did that mean he would refuse to answer? Not really. He wasn’t stupid enough to think silence would save him.

If anything, refusing to speak would only convince them he had something to hide.

The room remained quiet for several long seconds.

The only sound he could hear was the rhythmic tapping of Nar’s fingers against the wooden armrest.

Then, the man sitting to Nar’s left finally spoke.

"Answer this question."

Blake slowly shifted his gaze toward him.

The person folded their hands together.

"What do you know about Alfred Hicth?"

Blake blinked once.

’Ah. That’s not where I expected the conversation to go. Then again, I am the bastard child of Anlorta.’

His surname alone tied him to one of the wealthiest families connected to AL-TECH.

Anyone investigating him would inevitably stumble across that fact.

He carefully chose his next words.

"Honestly. There isn’t much I know about Mr. Alfred Hicth."

He shrugged lightly.

"I’ve met him a few times during events, and we talked. But, they were mostly meaningless conversations, so I couldn’t tell you anything interesting."

They gave a thoughtful hum, neither approving nor doubting.

Fortunately enough, there wasn’t much to catch. Blake hadn’t lied.

He had simply chosen the safest possible truth.

A different voice interrupted.

"Deli."

The man seated on Nar’s right leaned forward.

"You should ask him about the headquarters and the tour he won."

Blake’s heart skipped a beat.

’Damn.’

They knew far more deeply than he’d anticipated.

Deli nodded once before returning his attention to Blake.

"Very well. What did you see inside the AL-TECH headquarters?"

Blake answered almost immediately.

"Everything included in the tour."

Nar rested his chin on his intertwined fingers.

"And?"

Blake tilted his head.

"And?"

Nar smiled faintly.

"You expect me to believe that’s all?"

Blake let out a quiet laugh.

"Well... I do have certain privileges."

He deliberately emphasized the word.

"Even if I’m only Anlorta’s bastard. I was allowed to speak with Mr. Alfred Hicth for a while. And afterward, he let me walk through one of the upper executive floors."

Blake smiled again.

"What a privilege, isn’t it?"

The chair to Nar’s right scraped loudly across the concrete floor.

Their footsteps echoed steadily as they got closer to Blake.

They simply reached down, grabbed Blake’s collar, and pulled him upward, the fabric tightening around his neck, him and the chair literally not touching the floor any longer.

They stared directly into his eyes.

Nar sighed.

"Mori, sit."

Mori didn’t move.

"This interrogation is over."

His voice remained calm.

"He’s useless."

He gave Blake’s collar a slight shake.

"This child was never anything more than a toy. A puppet used by a second generation. And now, he mistakes proximity for importance."

Nar chuckled quietly.

"I know."

His fingers resumed their steady tapping.

"It is always unfortunate."

His smile widened ever so slightly.

"But, fortunately... I don’t particularly care."

Mori stared at Blake for another second before letting go.

Deli resumed as though nothing had happened.

"Did you tell the individual shown in the recording anything about what you saw inside AL-TECH?"

"No."

At least that much was entirely true.

Nar tapped the armrest one final time before standing.

"For now, you’ll remain here."

He gestured toward the reinforced walls.

"This room is monitored from every conceivable angle, too."

His smile disappeared.

"So don’t attempt anything clever."

Blake nodded once.

"I won’t."

Nar walked toward the heavy steel door.

Before leaving, Mori spoke without even turning around.

"One chance."

His voice echoed softly through the room.

"You have one chance left. If you waste it, there won’t be any mercy for the people you know and, of course, you."

The door shut.

Its metallic clang lingered long after the footsteps outside had faded.

Blake slowly leaned back.

***

Several kilometers away, Alexis flew through the forest.

Literally.

Each leap carried him from one towering tree to another, covering distances that would have taken an ordinary human several seconds to run.

Leaves burst outward every time he landed.

The branches bent deeply beneath his weight before springing him toward the next one.

He barely touched the trees.

The forest became a highway.

Ten possible locations were his current list.

He came to discover five of them were wrong.

Alexis had chased Ren enough times to understand his habits.

Whenever one hideout became compromised, he didn’t hesitate and simply disappeared.

By the time Alexis would contact anyone else to come... the building would already be empty.

Like frightened birds abandoning a nest.

"Annoying bastard."

Hours slipped by.

One abandoned warehouse.

Nothing.

A collapsed factory.

Nothing.

An old railway depot.

Nothing.

The fourth site.

Still nothing.

By the time he reached the last location, even Alexis was beginning to wonder if today’s search would be another waste of time.

Then, he stopped completely.

Balanced effortlessly atop a thick branch, he stared through the leaves below.

Four figures not too far away from him were ncased from head to toe in matte gray armor.

Alexis slowly grinned.

"There you are."

Finally.

Humans enhanced with alien DNA inherited vastly different traits depending on compatibility.

Alexis’ body specialized almost entirely in locomotion.

His leg muscles weren’t arranged in the familiar parallel bundles found in ordinary humans. Instead, dense spiraling fibers wrapped around reinforced tendons that behaved almost like biological springs.

Every landing compressed those tendons.

Every push released that stored energy.

The result wasn’t merely strength.

It was explosive acceleration.

One stride naturally flowed into the next.

Momentum never disappeared, it accumulated.

Very few hybrids could compete with him.

Myles happened to be one of the only exceptions.

Alexis inhaled, then vanished.

One guard looked upward, but it was too late.

Alexis dropped from nearly fifteen meters above.

His knee crashed directly into the man’s chest plate.

The impact folded the armored soldier backward before launching him into a tree hard enough to splinter the trunk.

The other three reacted immediately.

One drew a pistol.

Another charged.

The third activated an electrified baton.

Alexis sprinted directly toward them.

BANG!

He shifted sideways, not by much, just barely enough.

Every bullet missed by centimeters.

His body twisted through impossible angles without ever slowing down.

He planted one foot against a tree.

Then another.

Running horizontally along the trunk for several steps before pushing off.

His body flipped above the baton user’s head.

Midair, his heel slammed downward.

The helmet dented violently.

Before the soldier collapsed, Alexis had already landed.

The charging opponent swung a reinforced fist.

Alexis ducked.

His shoulder slipped beneath the attack.

He grabbed the man’s arm.

Pivoted.

Used the attacker’s own momentum.

The armored body sailed over Alexis’ shoulder before crashing onto a massive tree root.

The last standing soldier attempted another burst of gunfire.

Alexis sprinted directly toward him.

The rifle barely had time to fire twice.

Alexis twisted around the shots before spinning into a vicious roundhouse kick.

The reinforced boot connected squarely with the side of the helmet.

The visor exploded outward.

The soldier spun twice before collapsing unconscious.

...

Alexis brushed several leaves off his shoulder.

"Hmph, about time."

He tapped his wrist, and a whole bag came out.

Inside rested several coils of metallic restraint cable.

Unlike rope, the alloy remained flexible until tension activated its molecular locking mechanism.

The moment it tightened, it became almost impossible to bend. Of course, for him or any other person with Myles, it wasn’t difficult, since they trained for it.

But these arrogant weaklings weren’t the same.

Alexis wrapped each captive against separate trees.

Then retrieved several long steel locking spikes.

With practiced movements, he positioned each spike through the restraints.

Clang.

Clang.

Clang.

CLANG.

He tugged experimentally.

Nothing moved.

Satisfied, Alexis looked toward the distant industrial complex hidden deeper within the forest.

He sprinted again.

Minutes later, he crouched atop another enormous pine overlooking an abandoned processing plant.

"...Found you."

A satisfied sigh escaped him.

’What did I tell everyone?’

A smug grin spread across his face.

’I’m the best.’

He memorized every entrance before quietly retreating.

The mission wasn’t over yet.

Alexis returned to retrieve his prisoners.

One after another, he hoisted the armored men over his shoulders.

Even fully suited, each weighed well over a hundred kilograms.

Alexis merely adjusted his grip.

It was quite manageable regardless.

By the time he reached headquarters, his shirt clung lightly to his back with sweat.

The reinforced blast doors slid open.

Several technicians looked up.

Alexis casually dumped all four armored captives onto the polished floor.

Their armor struck the concrete with a series of deafening metallic crashes.

"There."

He stretched his neck.

"Catching these pigs wasn’t difficult."

Myles stepped forward.

"Where?"

Alexis walked into the changing chamber.

Mechanical arms descended from the ceiling.

Magnetic clamps released.

Hydraulic locks disengaged.

Section after section of heavy combat armor separated from his body until he stepped free wearing only the black compression suit underneath.

He rolled both shoulders.

"They were outside Alexei City."

He yawned.

"Way out in Trincilda."

A whistle echoed through the room.

Zlatan crouched beside the unconscious prisoners.

"Let’s have a look."

Without warning—

CRACK!

His fist shattered the first helmet.

Then another.

Then another.

Then the last.

Fragments scattered across the floor.

He stared at the exposed faces.

Then burst into loud laughter.

"Oh my! They’re even uglier than I expected."

Alexis snorted.

"I’m going to rest."

He pointed toward the captives.

"Have fun."

No one stopped him.

Instead, the remaining members entered their own changing chambers.

Mechanical arms lowered armored plates over their bodies.

Myles finished first.

He stepped out silently, walking toward one unconscious captive.

Then, without changing expression, he drove the toe of his armored boot directly into the man’s face.

THUD.

The prisoner’s head snapped violently to the side.

His eyes shot open, gasping for air, still dazed and confused, unable to understand where he was.

"You’re awake."

The room suddenly felt much colder.