OLD-WORLD EXTRA

Chapter 403: Strung Along



[Actually?]n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Raising a brow, Emir looked to his left, and Lyra materialized, only visible to his eyes.

[Yes, but, like always, it wasn't much. I'll send the data through now.]

She put up her right hand and touched his neck.

{Accept Link Point?}

A hologram appeared and he accepted it in under a moment, closing his eyes shortly after.

The dark world he saw changed into a bright one.

Digital screens surrounded him while the figure of a concealed man stood at the center.

Lyra appeared next, floating above him, her long white hair unmoving.

[As we expected, most caught a whiff of what happened. Apex Dynamics knows their employee was killed. How? They already knew of Darius's redesign, so they had him on watch by this man over here.]

The screens on each side displayed walls of text, feeding directly into Emir's mind.

He absorbed the information swiftly, processing all they knew about the figure standing before them.

[A few of our guys in the Shadow Squad spotted him snooping around the area where we kidnapped Darius. They chased after him, and eventually, saw him get back to his base of operations. He disappeared and hasn't been seen since.]

Emir grinned and commented:

[Nathan didn't give up there, though.]

Lyra descended slightly and circled him, still floating in the air.

[Correct. They investigated further, and that apartment led to the discovery of a series of middlemen who owned the property. That line of owners eventually connected to Apex Dynamics as one of their throwaway executives was the last connection.]

He became lost in thought for a moment, then asked:

[You think they found any evidence that it might be us?]

Lyra shook her head.

[No, they would've sent the UEF guard if they did. But there's no denying that they heavily suspect our involvement.]

[True... as unfortunate as that is. Anyways, what's the current status of the Shadow Squad?] [They're keeping a low profile, monitoring the area. We've got eyes on the base, but there's been no activity. It's like he vanished into thin air.]

[Good...]

Emir paused his reply for a second and his mind had already formed a plan.

[Keep the best two there to maintain surveillance, the rest must get out by tonight and regroup with the Elite Cohort. It's risky, but we need to know the moment there's any movement. We can't afford to let anything through our fingers.]

[Understood. I'll keep you updated.]

Their entry into Corp Plaza couldn't be done in secret.

They had to show themselves to allow Nathan's men, the recently named Shadow Squad, an easy way in.

And yes, those ninjas were in fact strapped to the undersides of the vehicles, clinging like spiders.

They weren't caught thanks to their invisible augmented suits and Lyra's Shadow Veil.

Now, all they had to do was get out, which was considerably easier than getting in.

The exit protocols were more lax, giving the Big Eight some leeway in their illegal activities, and negating the need for any elaborate extraction.

[But for now, that doesn't matter as much. What we need to know is if they're able to retrace what Darius did and build it anytime soon. Like last time, a minor disaster still happened even though we contained it, so I don't doubt the same will happen again.]

She repeatedly nodded at his words and flicked her hand once he was done, changing the scene, allowing different screens to show themselves alongside a hologram of a long oval column where Darius's brain was housed.

Information invaded his mind once more, and he blinked his eyes open, returning to the real world.

[...I see.]

The elevator door slid open and he walked down the hall, heading to Amon's office.

While doing so, his mind went through all that he learned a few moments ago.

Darius was a smart man.

He had his tracks covered, destroying every prototype once his testing was complete.

The traces he left behind were faint, and only his half-complete report remained, which wasn't too useful.

Though they had the formula, it was too basic to be of true use.

They needed to tread the same path he had and fail in the same ways he did until they could

manage to figure out the details of his solutions.

Emir and family didn't need to do that, however.

They had the man himself helping them, his brain a treasure trove of information.

With it, they not only figured out how to build the machine but also how Apex Dynamics spied on the man and the reason why they had kept quiet about him.

Finding out how they caught him was pretty easy.

While there weren't cameras in the private labs, the numerous discrepancies in his reports led to a routine fraud investigation.

The Apex Dynamics' investigation department didn't take long to uncover the project, which must have surprised them quite a bit as they had expected the usual employee-gone-rogue shtick that was so common in Corp Plaza, not a project that would gain them thousands of

Valora.

Now the second 'why' wasn't as obvious, but if one took a step back, they could easily figure it out.

Corp Plaza had information on everyone, true, but it wasn't focused on everyone.

Low-level dregs tripping their way up the corporate ladder weren't of much interest.

This meant that no one would look twice at Darius, giving him an invisible shield.

Even his own employer caught him late, let alone those in other corporations.

It was a good tactic... Too bad they had crossed paths with someone knowledgeable about the future, courtesy of the Oracle, the Rulekeeper itself, and the Order's fabricated novel.

[Alright, thanks for the heads-up. I'll talk to them later.]

With that, Emir shared the details of everything that happened in class with Lyra and

approached Amon's office.

He knocked lightly on the side of the door as it slid open.

Stepping inside, he saw Amon glance up from his terminal, and the bored expression on his

face gave way to a smile.

"Welcome, welcome, son, you've kept me waiting."

Emir rolled his eyes.

"I was right on time, you've got nothing to complain about."

Exaggerating a gasp, Amon pushed himself and his chair away from his desk.

"But that only means that I've missed you~."

"Yeah, yeah, what's up?"

"Nothing much. Just wanted to tell you that you are, as I expected, completely and utterly

crazy."

"Why so?"

"I saw that video of yours. While insanely impressive, and I mean that by the way, not even I

could do it the way you did... It's still pitiful."

Emir gave him a blank stare.

"...I'd rather you not do that. What did you invite me here for?"

Seeing how quickly he changed the subject, Amon deemed it sensitive and played along.

"Well, first tell me, did those prisoners do your students any good?"

Emir proceeded to sit on one of the two seats in front of Amon's desk while saying:

"They did great. It'll take a while for the students to process their first kill, so I can't make any concrete comments, but I think it's safe to say that it's a solid step in the right direction."

Amon solemnly nodded, his smile fading.

"...Thank you for doing what I can't."

"You're welcome, just make sure to keep my 'rewards' coming."

They both knew what those rewards were, so the joking mood quickly shifted to one of rising

tension.

Their eyes locked, and Emir leaned on the table, getting closer, but Amon did the opposite,

pushing himself further back.

"You trying to kiss me, son?"

Clicking his tongue, Emir looked away, and the tension diffused along with him.

"And here I thought that you wouldn't dodge-"

"No, I'll tell you about your father."

Amon cut him off while waving his hand as an apology.

"Just don't expect it to be quick. I'll use you as much as I can... After all, I'm sure you'll dip the

moment you know their names."

Emir's brows twitched.

"And you called me shameless?"

Amon chuckled.

"Like father, like son, eh?"

Leaning his head on his now clutched fist, Emir asked:

"What's up with you calling me son? I don't see you doing that to the other professors."

The principal's smile returned, and it was the brightest one Emir had ever seen adorn his face.

"I am the king of this place, am I not?"

Emir nodded, admitting:

"You are."

"Then, are you not its prince?"

|| ||

They looked at each other for a few seconds, silent, until Emir blankly said:

"So it was a pun?"

Amon chuckled once more.

"No, no, it's to remind you of your place..."

In that short moment of pause, his eyes dimmed, and a crown materialized above his head.

"For what is a prince to a king?"