Chapter 273: Undercurrents
"What is this place? Where am I?" Silas asked himself as he finally came to.
He woke up and found himself in a familiar looking white space but with a vague feeling of unfamiliarity.
He didn't know how to explain it. The white space he's in right now looks no different from the one he was during his first evolution metamorphosis but it gave off a feeling of unfamiliarity.
"Strange."
Silas took a look around him but no matter how much he looked, there was nothing that gave him an inkling of an idea of where he was.
"System. System?. System?!"
He decided to call out the system, hoping that it would come to his rescue. But after calling it out a couple of times, he got no response.
"Ugh... Why do I always have to go through something like this. The dirty time I was just thrown around and shown things that filled me with a lot of questions but no answers was given. Am I going to experience the same thing again?" Silas muttered to himself in slight irritation as he stood up from the floor.
Silas was acting surprised by the fact that he lost consciousness a second time. It's something he has never experienced or heard about before and so, it was quite novel to him.
He took one more look around and decided to walk around the white space. Or should he call it a room?
Silas took one step forward and his eyes widened as an indescribable amount of pain burned through his head and body.
*Arghh!!!*
A blood curdling scream escaped from his mouth as he grabbed his head and collapsed to his knees. Silas felt like his head—the epicenter of the pain—was being torn, shredded and smashed to pieces.
He continued to scream as he did his best to endure the pain but it proved difficult as the pain kept increasing with each passing seconds.
With each second, it felt like his head was being hammered into the ground causing the pain to increase by multiple fold.
"Arghh!!! Why every fucking time pain?! Why?! Are you a fucking sadist, system?!" Silas asked through gritted teeth, almost biting his tongue off.
As time went on, Silas felt himself slowly losing consciousness. He immediately bit his lips as he forced himself to stay awake but the feeling kepy getting stronger no matter how many times, and how hard he bits his lips.
"Come on! Come on! Why does this always keep happening?!" Silas tried to force himself to stay awake but after a few seconds, his eyes had already became too heavy for him.
Slowly, his eyes closed as he lost consciousness the again. Silas found the situation to be bizarre. He knew that his real body is in the Evolution Capsule in the real world and everything he's experiencing is in his head.
The question is why is he still falling unconscious? This is w question he didn't have the answer to and there was no way for him to do so as he's still unconscious.
*****
In an unknown location under the Pacific Ocean, a massive glass dome could be seen at the bottom, with multiple tubes connected to it.
At the entrance of one of the tube, in front of a sealed door, a young lady could be seen standing, seemingly waiting for someone.
Few seconds later, the sealed door opened and an elderly man who looks to be in his late sixties walked into the glass dome.
"Welcome, Mr President. How may I assist you today?" The young lady greeted with a curt bow.
"I would like to purchase information and possibly weapons, and also any available tech."
Hearing what the man said, the lady's eyes narrowed a bit but eased immediately. She smiled and put on the best face she could as she got ready to send the old man back.
"I'm sorry, Mr President, but if it's information on the Silas individual you're looking for. We can't assist you. Also, our organization has decided to stop selling weapons or any tech to any anyone.
Organization, entity, whoever and whatever it is, we do not sell weapons and tech to them anymore. If there's nothing else, I would be taking my leave. Thanks for visiting Oralios today."
The President's lips thinned as his request was flatly denied. "Surely, there's room for negotiation," he said, his tone a bit more forceful.
The woman didn't flinch. "I'm afraid our policies are non-negotiable." Her smile turned brittle. "If there's nothing else, I'll have to ask you to leave. Thank you for visiting Oralios."
Without waiting for a response, she turned on her heel and strode away, her heels clicking against the polished floor.
The President stood frozen, his jaw tightening. As the sealed doors behind him opened, he muttered under his breath, "Arrogant little brat. Just like her employers—always so high and mighty."
Back on the deck of his private yacht, the President emerged from the deep-sea elevator, his mood as turbulent as the waves around him. Two of his aides approached, their faces expectant.
"How did it go, sir?" one of them asked hesitantly.
The President's face twisted into a scowl. "That damned woman refused outright. No weapons. No tech. No information. Oralios thinks they're untouchable because of their secrecy and power. Just you wait."
He paced across the deck, his frustration mounting. "We'll find another way to deal with this. The boy—Silas—can't stay hidden forever. And when he resurfaces, we'll be ready to take him down."
One of the aides hesitated before speaking. "What's our next move, Mr. President?"
The older man paused, staring out at the vast ocean. "Contact our operatives in Asia and Europe. We'll find someone who can give us the edge we need. And keep an eye on Oralios—if they won't sell to us, we'll make them regret it."
"Yes, sir," the aide replied before leaving.
*****
Kyoto, Japan
Under the moonlit canopy of a dense forest near Kyoto, a chase was underway. Mr. Nakamoto, a Phenomenal with the ability to disrupt electrical signals, was fleeing for his life. Behind him, three shadowy figures pursued, their movements eerily fluid and precise.
"Mr. Nakamoto!" one of them called out, his voice calm yet taunting. "You can't outrun us. Stop now, and we can talk like civilized people."
Nakamoto ignored them, his breaths coming in ragged gasps as he darted between the trees. Suddenly, a sharp cracking sound echoed through the forest. A thick branch snapped and flew toward him, aimed with lethal precision.
Reacting instinctively, Nakamoto raised his hand, sending out a pulse that disrupted the drone controlling the branch. The wood dropped harmlessly to the ground, but the effort cost him precious energy.
"Persistent, aren't you?" the same voice called again, closer this time.
A figure materialized in front of him the next second, blocking his path. It was Rin, the leader of the group, her eyes glowing faintly in the darkness.
"It's over," she said, her voice cold and detached.
Nakamoto turned, only to find the other two closing in behind him. He was surrounded.
"Why are you doing this?!" he demanded, his voice desperate.
Rin tilted her head slightly. "Orders. Nothing personal."
"Mr. Nakamoto, this is your last warning. Surrender, or we'll do this the hard way."
With a flick of his wrist, a faint shimmer surrounded him as he activated his stealth ability. His body blended seamlessly with the environment, rendering him nearly invisible.
He immediately moved silently, creeping behind the group that had surrounded his earlier position.
Rin stood motionless, her eyes scanning the clearing. "Stay sharp," she said to her subordinates. "He's still here."
A rustle in the underbrush to their left drew their attention. One of Rin's subordinates, a hulking man named Kenta, turned toward the sound. "I'll flush him out," he growled, stepping closer to the noise.
That was Nakamoto's chance. Emerging from the shadows behind Kenta, he drove a dagger into the man's side with precision, aiming for a non-lethal but incapacitating wound.
"Ugh!" Kenta stumbled, clutching his side, but Nakamoto didn't linger. He melted back into the shadows, vanishing before Rin or the other subordinate, Aya, could react.
"He's fast," Aya muttered, her eyes narrowing as she scanned the area.
Rin's lips thinned. "He's toying with us. Spread out. He won't stay hidden forever."
The trio cautiously spread out in the forest.
Nakamoto used the opportunity to move further into the shadows, his mind racing.
'I need to find an opening to escape. I can't keep this up for long.:
Suddenly, Rin froze. Her sharp instincts kicked in. "There," she whispered, turning to a barely perceptible shimmer in the air.
She thrust her hand forward, sending a concussive pulse of energy toward Nakamoto's hiding spot. He barely managed to dodge, the force grazing his side and tearing through the bark of a nearby tree.
The blast disrupted his stealth momentarily, revealing his figure. Aya lunged at him, twin daggers in hand, her movements swift and extremely deadly.
Nakamoto spun out of the way, his foot hooking around Aya's ankle and sending her sprawling to the ground.
Kenta, despite his injury, roared and charged, swinging a massive tree branch like a club. Nakamoto ducked under the swing, using the momentum to drive his elbow into Kenta's ribs, making the larger man stagger back. Discover more stories at m,v l'e-NovelBin.net
"Enough!" Rin shouted, her voice slicing through the chaos. She unleashed a wave of energy that rippled through the area, forcing Nakamoto to retreat.
The blast didn't hit him directly, but the shockwave sent him crashing into a tree, his stealth flickering and failing completely.
Blood dripped from his temple as he scrambled to his feet, his vision swimming. Rin advanced, her steps deliberate.
"You're skilled, Nakamoto, but you're outmatched," she said, raising her hand to deliver the finishing blow.
But Nakamoto wasn't done yet. With a surge of willpower, he activated his ability one last time, disappearing into the shadows just as Rin's energy blast obliterated the tree he'd been leaning against.
"Where did he go?" Aya asked, scanning the area carefully.
Rin's eyes narrowed as she concentrated, but she couldn't sense him anymore. He was gone.