What was his purpose here? Was everyone on this floor hard of hearing? He had clearly asked them about Marian Dubois' whereabouts; shouldn't his purpose here obviously be to meet with him?
"I have a small overdue appointment with him." Jin said in an unhurried manner. He figured that Marian would be on this floor, however, he did not sense any other presence hiding around. At the moment, it was only him, the immobilized Carnage, and the members of Valiant.
"Appointment?" Alpha One said with surprise apparent in his voice. However, he soon shook his head helplessly.
"I'm afraid you're too late. Marian Dubois is no longer in this world." Alpha One said. He was still on guard against the young man before him, but he certainly did not want to have such a person as his enemy.
Still, Jin's young appearance shocked Alpha One. He felt as if he was getting too old and it was about time for the younger generation to start making a name for themselves. After all, he was quite the well-informed person and yet he had never heard of Carnage nor the young man he was speaking to.
Jin set his gaze upon Alpha One. Even with Alpha One wearing combat gear Jin could still tell by other various factors that he was not lying. Also, he did not feel any other presence on this floor so this further reinforced that Alpha One was telling the truth.
'I suppose it's over for them.'
Thanks to his attacks on the Dragon Stone gang bases, they would become severely crippled. During that time, other organizations would definitely not allow them the chance to recover. As far as he was concerned, the Dragon Stone gang was as good as finished.
"I see, that's a shame." Jin said as he walked over towards Carnage who was now lying unconscious on the floor.
"Careful, he isn't normal." Alpha One warned Jin without thinking. He had already forgotten that it was the young man who was the one who took down that monster.
Jin only gave a slight smile in response as he approached Carnage. To be truthful, Jin was tempted to use the Soul Searching technique against the unconscious Carnage. Not only would he discover how Carnage managed to learn Minor Sword Qi, but he may discover some other interesting details as well.
But, in the end, Jin was not one to use the Soul Searching technique so freely just because it would grant him information. Soul Searching was still something that he was unwilling to use on those who did not do something unforgivable.
Carnage may have tried to take his life, but it could not even be considered a fight. If he were to eternally punish Carnage for his actions, it would be like an adult claiming the life of a child because they threw a tantrum. However, he would not go away completely empty-handed.
Jin reached down to pick up the crimson sword on the floor next to Carnage. He also removed the sheath at Carnage's side.
When he did so, the members of Valiant went on high alert but were quickly told to disregard any potential hostile actions by Alpha One. After being in the field for so long, he had a pretty strong intuition that he trusted. Right now, it told him not to confront this young man in an aggressive manner.
'Good sword.'
Jin examined the crimson sword before returning it to its sheath in his left hand. Of course, Jin was using mortal standards to judge the worthiness of the crimson sword. Although he did not necessarily need a sword, it still felt nice to hold one in his hands after so long.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
A device on Alpha One's wrist went off. He looked down and sucked his teeth when he saw the coded message. Apparently, the reinforcements had arrived and were on their way to the top level.
It would be a lie to say that he was not slightly annoyed that they had come after everything was already over. Alpha One finally remembered that he still had a few questions to ask that young man. After all, the Zi Family would certainly be generous and grant him a great reward for assisting them. Of course, assuming he wasn't already a part of the Zi Family.
"I'd like to know your name if you're interested in-" Alpha One said as he looked up from his wrist, however, he stopped talking once he saw that the young man was no longer there! He had come to this place and then completely vanished, just like a phantom.
"Commander, are you sure it's okay to let him escape without knowing anything about him?" One of the Valiant members asked.
"If you want to chase after him then be my guest. Worst case scenario you'll simply lose your life. I've fought and commanded enough battles to know when to advance, when to retreat, and when not to fight at all. I believe it's clear what choice this battle is." Alpha One said as he bound Carnage's hands and feet.
The Valiant member furrowed his brows for a moment but nodded his head in the end. If not for their commander and his leadership, every last one of them may have already died long ago in that room.
As the Valiant member thought of this, as well as, the death of his fellow Valiant members, he looked at the unconscious Carnage and had thoughts of ending his disgusting life right then and there.
"Don't even think about it. This guy still has a lot of questions to answer. I'm pissed off too, but tell me who do you want, the soldier or the general? I doubt this guy is the mastermind behind all this. After we get the information we need, he will be sure to pay for his crimes, I guarantee it." Alpha One said while trying to suppress his anger.
Not too long after Jin left the scene, over thirty people in combat gear stormed the top floor.
…
Somewhere located right around the corner from the now former Dragon Den…
Breaker sat in the back seat of his tinted car waiting patiently. However, as time went by a large frown began to form on his face.
"Could they have failed? But that shouldn't be possible from what they told me…" Breaker said to himself as he took out his cellphone and dialed a number. But, in the end, all he got in return was a dead ringtone.
When Breaker saw that more vehicles were starting to enter the Orion Corporation building area, his expression began to darken. Not a single person in the squad he sent had reported in at the agreed upon time.
"Drive." Breaker said.
"Where to, sir?" The driver asked.
"Anywhere away from here!" Breaker shouted angrily as he slammed his fist against the door.
The driver immediately started to drive without question with no particular destination in mind.
"This complicates things. I'll have to assume that large waste of space is still alive and my plan failed. I'll have to low lay for a bit and gather more information. In the meantime, I have some new friends to make." Breaker said to himself as he calmed down. One thing was for sure, he would not allow for this to be the end of things.
…
Around two days later…
It was in the late afternoon and the sun was shining bright outside. If one listened closely, they would hear the birds outside singing their own pleasant tune as the wind blew by with the sound of a whisper.
"Jin, isn't it adorable? It reminds me of you when you were just a little baby. Do you remember? You used to squeeze onto my finger so tight whenever I would lay you down to rest. I never thought in my life that a baby could have such strength." Reilei said with a blossoming smile on her face.
She was looking up at the baby bird in a nest on a tree branch. The mother bird seemed as if she were grooming or feeding it. It was difficult to tell from their current distance.
"Mother-" Jin was getting ready to speak before he was cut off.
"Alright, I understand. I won't say any more embarrassing things in public." Reilei said accompanied by a giggle.
At the moment, Jin and Reilei were talking a walk at one of the nearby parks. Reilei had awakened earlier this morning in the hospital, however, unlike the intense pain or drugged state that she expected to be in, she felt completely rejuvenated!
Besides a few shallow burn marks that would heal over time thanks to the Eight Lunar Cycles physique that she was currently unaware of, she was in perfect health. In fact, she was in even better health than before the fire happened.
The doctor assigned to Reilei was baffled and insisted that she stay longer so that he could run a few more test. However, Reilei understood how expensive it was to stay in a hospital and the fact that they currently did not have the money to squander freely. If she was already feeling better and the previous test showed nothing wrong, then she had no reason to stay.
This was even more so now that they currently had no place to live. With their apartment gone, they would have to find other living arrangements. Just when everything appeared to be going right for once, reality gave them a slap in the face.
However, Jin during the time before Reilei's awakening arranged and deal with a few things. But, he did not expect her to check out of the hospital before he could even return. Even though money was not a concern of his at the moment.
'Mariposa certainly cannot be too happy right now.'
It had been nearly three full days, nearly four now since he had last logged into RML due to the recent events. However, he was not too worried about falling behind in level. After all, the in-game time ratio was reduced to 3:1 and he was already level 34.
At most, some of the top players would reach his level while very few if any would pass him, but even then he felt as if he would still be able to catch up in time.
As Jin and Reilei were walking, she decided to finally address the elephant in the room.
"Jin… I know that I made a promise before but-" Reilei started but was soon interrupted by Jin.
"But you want to start back working multiple jobs, correct?" Jin finished her statement for her.
Reilei nodded and said, "It's still not too late to get my old jobs back if I ask. I'm sure they haven't hired anyone new just yet. I still trust you, that much will never change. I just… I do not want to become a burden."
Jin did not yet have the chance to inform Reilei of his recently acquired wealth. After all, he was abruptly logged out of RML, tossed into a fire, and had returned from dealing with the culprits responsible for the fire.
"The last thought that would cross my mind is you as a burden, mother." Jin responded.
He had seen how much Reilei sacrificed to make Jin happy and what she was willing to sacrifice to make him happy. Therefore, he would no longer allow her to needlessly sacrifice herself.
"About our current situation…" Jin then went on to explain his current wealth, as well as, how he was able to obtain it. Of course, he left out of a lot of the boring details, but it was still enough for Reilei to understand the base of it all. He also explained a few more things that he took care of while she was unconscious.
Of course, he did not mention his actions against the Dragon Stone gang and the culprits responsible for the fire.
A few moments later, Reilei stood there motionless with her mouth slightly open from shock. Did she really hear things correctly?
"Jin, you-" Reilei was speechless. She truly did not know how to respond to that. Since the very moment she awakened she began to worry about their housing situation, the hospital bill, and many other unresolved monetary issues. However, it appeared her worries had been for nothing all this time!
The debt, the hospital bill, the unresolved monetary issues… Jin had already taken care of everything!
However, the most shocking thing was the amount of wealth her son had managed to accumulate in such a short period of time.
