Chapter 169 The Silver-Haired Girl (New) (Continue after 'The King XZ Droids 2')
As Patrick and Ludwick talked inside the hotel building, outside, three human figures flashed from the distance as they hovered over the scene where the fight previously occurred. The arrived figures were men wearing grey and black suits with dark glasses. Leading the team was a young man in his late twenties, he had a more domineering demeanor among the three as one could see him floating in the distance with hands in his pocket while the two other men surveyed and inspected the scene with radar-like devices in their hands.
The young man was a fair-skinned European and had short black hair, he floated 6'1" feet tall as waves of mana ceaselessly swirled around his body, with a glance, one can decipher this young man was quite powerful, or at least to the point where his presence alone commanded respect. The young man held a serious countenance as he surveyed the surroundings.
Moments later, the two other men drifted to the young man as they reported something with frowning faces as if doubtful of not finding anything. The young man nodded in response, then, released a wave of his Detection Essence as he scanned the surroundings, but to his surprise, he discovered nothing out of the ordinary.
But as if detected someone, the young man turned and looked below and saw the Metro Heaven Hotel, the young man then shifted his gaze as he saw a group of eighty-seven people-like soldiers all in a straight formation and rows of seven, ten on each row. The young man frowned slightly as he scrutinizingly stared at the eighty-seven beings, but he changed his gaze to the thing that caught his attention, which was a D-rank Awakened on the fifty-fifth floor of the building.
"Follow me!"
The young man gestured as he quickly drifted down towards the hotel, the two other men followed suit.
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Not long after on the fifty-fifth floor, the elevator doors opened as a young woman stepped out and approached the group of Patrick, Ludwick, Mark, and young Madam Hanami. She gestured a respectful bow as she spoke in Japanese.
"Excuse my rudeness, Madam Hanami, but there are three men outside asking to see you specifically."
Hearing the young woman's words, Madam Hanami nodded, but she didn't reply immediately, instead, she turned to Patrick at the far end of the table as if asking for his permission. Patrick maintained an expressionless gaze as he lazily blinked, his little gesture acting as the "go ahead" to Madam Hanami. Granted, Madam Hanami started getting up, but before she could even stand, Patrick interrupted, speaking Japanese.
"Please, Madam Hanami, it is discourteous to yourself to stop just for some officials... please continue your meal... Lady Susana, please tell the three men Madam Hanami is busy now and that they should wait until she's done eating, and don't forget to tell them the Hotel is closed for three hours, but they are free to wait if they so choose."
Listening to the godly handsome dark-skinned young man, Susana blushed with red cheeks as she diverted her gaze from him, but she still held a surprised look as she stared at young Madam Hanami as if wanting to verify if she should do as told.
Madam Hanami also held surprised eyes as she stared at Patrick, but she quickly recollected herself as she turned to the young woman and spoke.
"Young master King is my employer, as he is yours, so he holds complete authority on how things are done on his property. Tell the officials what the young master had said."
"... Yes, Madam Hanami. Forgive my stupidity, young master King, I shall not repeat such a mistake."
"..." Patrick slightly nodded in understanding to the young woman's apology.
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Down in a waiting room in the Metro Heaven Hotel, the three men from earlier were in the room as they waited for Madam Hanami. The young man leading the group sat on a sofa couch with spread legs and arms resting on his legs as he stared with a focused gaze, his eyes held a cautious emotion as he seemed to be in deep thought. The other two men stood in different parts of the room as one seemed to have noticed something.
"Is it just me, or has Metro Heaven Hotel been upgraded, I lodged here a month ago during my vacation, and Metro Heaven wasn't this posh. They even had some molten pipes and cracked walls, but now it seems to have been renovated and upgraded, look, this vase, costs 80,000 D$ on the internet, yet it's used as material for decoration."
The other government official and the young man who was their leader remained silent as they listened to their partner's words. The man held a thoughtful gaze as he continued.
"And those cars outside, this is my first time seeing such highly advanced vehicles, based on the insignia on the back and the number plates, they are from King Tech. And from the luxurious design of the black and gold SUV, there must be an important figure from King Technologies here, but King Tech is a privately-owned company, and Dylan Ludwick is the CEO, so that must only mean he is here."
The middle-aged government official finalized his deductions based on his observation and the current situation of the scene.
They had landed on the ground and saw the eighty-seven droids and over twenty black luxurious vehicles parked in a curved line, occupying the entire drive-thru of the hotel. But the most eye-catching thing was not the vehicles, but rather the insignia etched on the back and number plate of the black and gold SUV, a golden K letter, which was a well-known insignia of King Tech.
Time passed and a minute later, the transparent sliding doors to the waiting room opened as the young woman from earlier walked in. She gently walked to the three men and spoke, her words calm and gentle as if she wasn't relaying bad news. She spoke English with a Japanese accent.
"Sirs, Madam Hanami is currently having a meal with the boss and will be busy for the next three hours, if you don't mind, you can wait for her, also, the hotel is currently closed and won't be opening until the boss leaves. I hope you understand."
Finished speaking, the young woman gestured a respectful bow as she exited the room.
The two middle-aged officials held surprised and doubtful expressions as they stared at the young woman's back vanishing into the distance. The young man who was the leader remained unreactive as he saw the woman's figure vanish from sight. He suddenly relaxed on the couch as he relaxed his gaze, but contrary to his reaction, the other two government officials had different opinions.
"What do they mean the hotel is closed for three hours, is there even such a thing?! And don't they know that preventing a government official from performing their duties is a crime? We can sue the hotel for such actions."
"She said their boss and Madam Hanami using two separate subjects, does that mean Metro Heaven has been acquired by King Tech? That's strange, why would King Tech buy Metro Heave?! But then again, that explains why Metro Heaven was upgraded all of a sudden, and at least we have confirmed now that King Tech's CEO, Dylan Ludwick, is here...
Head Detective, what are your orders, should we force our way in? With the Public Protection Act 77, we have the right to perform our duties regardless of the property's owner's permission, as long as we have a valid and approved warrant from the Head Office. With a word from you, we can easily get a warrant from the Head Officer..."
One of the middle-aged officials spoke as he and the other official looked at their Head Detective with expectation, thinking he would agree with them and request a warrant to carry on their duties. But contrary to the two officials' expectations and anticipation, the young Head Detective remained relaxed as he spoke, his words sounding direct and unrefusable.
"I don't intend to bother the Head Officer this afternoon, and why do we need a warrant when we are here to ask questions to witnesses? Now, If you two have nothing else to say, I suggest you keep your opinions to yourselves. I don't care if it's three hours or ten hours, we are here on duty, and until we get our objective, we will wait until Madam Hanami sees us."
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Deep in the southern parts of an isolated location from the crowdy Metro City, on a land mass ranging over eight hundred acres, there was a mansion occupying squares of miles of land. The mansion was similar to a castle in medieval times, but with some modern-day designs; like the helipad, a helicopter landing spot at the top of the building, which is a modern-day idea commonly adopted by the wealthy.
The mansion-like castle was one building, but it was over ten miles wide, and fifteen floors high. Zooming closer to the vicinity of the castle, one could see tens of guards, all wearing blue attires standing guard outside like unmovable objects.
In the distance in front of the building's entrance, multiple rows of cars stood parked as if there was a family gathering or some sort of meeting among important personnel.
Inside this expansive and constructively designed mansion, on the eighth floor, a maid wearing black and white attire held a tray of cleanly peeled oranges as she entered a spacious living chamber, she approached a table and stood next to an elderly man whose back was facing the door. The maid placed the oranges next to the elderly man as she spoke with a gentle tone.
"Here are your oranges, Sir Watson!".
The elderly man nodded with appreciation, but he had his head straightened since he seemed to be engaged in a conversation with someone across the table.
"... How long has it been, sixteen years?! And you still seem to be doing just fine, old friend!"
"Nonsense, this old man is exhausted and all scarred up, saying I'm fine would be an overstatement. But I must say though, I prefer fighting monsters in Gates than dealing with people in politics. Since monsters express exactly what they want, but humans will lead you in a rabbit hole of endless wants, desires, and scheming... anyways, enough boring talk, how are you doing old friend, still eating peeled oranges I see."
"What can I say, its the only thing that's not trying to give me a headache in this city. ... So, I may be a busy man, but even I know as the Chairman of WAO, you are an even busier person. What might have made you clear two hours from your schedule and traveled from London just for me, I hope I haven't done anything that might have broken the law?"
The Watson elderly male spoke as he chuckled at the end of his sentence. The other elderly man at the end of the table also chuckled as he sipped a glass of martini. This elderly man was the scarred-face Chairman of the World Awakened Organization. He wore a black suit with a grey necktie and sat relaxed on his seat as he chuckled with the Watson family Head, who he seems to be long-time friends with. The Chairman set the glass of martini on the table as he slowly assumed a serious face. Suddenly, the Watson family Head stopped chuckling as he also assumed a serious face.
The room became intense as these two powerful and influential men became serious. The chairman began talking as he casually threw a flash drive at the Watson family Head. The flash drive whistled through the room like a dagger being sent at an enemy; but the Watson family Head easily caught the flash drive, not even caring how the Chairman threw the flash drive as this was their way of interaction.
"Yesterday, I received a report about an incident of a certain group of Awakened perishing in a C-rank Gate. Now, I would usually make people go through a lot of paperwork for us to be involved, but since this matter involves a close friend, I figured I'd pass on the news myself... and if this news were to be filed and documented, it would likely leak and that would lead to public unrest, so I'm doing this also for my benefit."
"..."
The Watson family Head listened and clicked a button on the flash drive as flashing images began appearing at the tip of the flash drive. The images displayed a dark-skinned African and his team of over fifty Awakened all lying massacred in the scene. The dark-skinned African leader couldn't even be recognized, as he was dried up, like a corpse that has been buried for decades.
Seeing the scattered Awakened in the images, especially the dried-up leader, the Watson family Head expressed with a serious but unreactive gaze as he murmured. "Mohamed" is the African captain's name as he was a well-known subordinate of the Watson family.
While the Watson family Head clicked through the images, the Chairman continued.
"... I intend to keep the matter a secret and investigate into thoroughly before I can make any conclusions. But as for now, I can't say for sure what might have caused a group of over fifty Awakened to perish in a C-rank Gate, even the B-rank captain didn't make it. I don't remember the monsters getting any stronger, but then again, knowing how there has been an increase in emerging Gates lately, I could be wrong."
"... I appreciate the discretion, old friend. Mohamed Sahil and his team were the strongest force in my family, if news of their demise were to be known publicly, my company's stocks would fall significantly overnight; especially for the other major families, like sharks smelling the presence of blood, they will do whatever to bite off whatever piece they can from my company... But forget about my company, first I have to send word to Mohamed's wife and kids, it would be evil of me if I kept such truth from them."
The Watson Head spoke with a disheartened expression as he placed the flash drive on the table.
The scene went silent for a while as both elderly men remained quiet as if morning the team of dead Awakened.
A while later, the Chairman spoke, his words seeming like advice to his friend.
"I don't know much about the feud between you families in Metro City, but it seems you need to become allies with at least one other major family, doing that will not only prevent your company and family's downfall, but it will even boost your influence in the city."
"... Ha, my Watson family is second among the four major families in Metro City, extending my hand for an alliance with any of the other families would be like feeding myself to the beast, then, instead of an alliance, they would be more interested in devouring whatever bone is left of me and my company. And besides, the Grey family already has the Walker and Haldin families in the back of their pockets. Now I don't even have the power to negotiate for a truce, let alone an alliance.
Sigh~! Looks like my Watson family has hit a big wall this time, not only don't I have the strength to fight back, I don't even have the strength to protect what I have."
The Watson elder spoke with a dejected face. His name was Julius Watson, Head of one of the four major companies in Metro City, the Watson family. He had short black and grey hair neatly straightened and laid to the back, he had a wrinkled but handsome face, contrary to his friend, the Chairman, who had a big scar on his face. The Watson Head sat with a serious face, leaving the scene to go silent, since the Chairman also remained silent.
Suddenly, while sitting in silence, a slight tremble occurred causing slight dust to fall within the chamber. Despite the sudden commotion, both elderly men remained unfazed and unreactive as they casually looked down, as if knowing where the trembling originated.
But suddenly, a maid rushed over hurriedly as she screamed in panic to the Watson Head.
"Sir Watson, it's Lady Athena, it happened again!!"
As if had heard an urgent news, the Watson family Head's face suddenly became serious, without even allowing the maid to utter another word, Julius Watson rose from his seat as his figure vanished with a flash, leaving the scene. Seeing his friend leaving in a hurry, the WAO Chairman also reacted with action as he rushed from the scene, his figure equally, if not even faster than the Watson family Head. All the maid felt was two gushes of wind passing by her as the two elderly men vanished from her sight.
On the sixth floor of the Watson family mansion, there was a very spacious training chamber, the training chamber was spacious because the entire floor was utilized as the training hall. Within the spacious chamber, multiple female Awakened stood scattered in different parts of the chamber as they seemed to be distancing themselves from a certain figure in the center of the hall.
In the center of the hall was a girl not older than sixteen years of age and seemed to be in a possessed state of consciousness, the young girl floated with hung arms, legs, and head, making it easily discernable that she wasn't in control of her body or mind. The girl was fair-skinned and had black and silver hair. Although young, the girl's body released uncontrollable waves of white energy which seemed to be completely different from the usual verdant Mana of Earth 001, even C-rank Awakened subjects had to distance themselves from the terrifying energy being released from the young girl's body.
As if the white energy wasn't disastrous enough, there was also another catastrophic ability that seemed to be absorbing the white energy and was causing more chaos in the scene, that ability is the ice ability. In addition to the white energy, the ice ability also seemed to be absorbing verdant Mana from the surroundings as it became more catastrophic for the nearby people. Twelve revolving ice portals surrounded the girl as they constantly discharged ice crystals aimlessly into the scene. The ice crystals vary in shape and size.
"Everyone, fall back, save yourselves!-"
From among the scattered Awakened, a female C-rank Awakened clad in silver armor shouted as she directed the others to leave the scene in a hurry, but before she could even finish her sentence, a large ice crystal shot into the ground next to her, the ice crystal emitted a faint cold air which instantly froze the female C-rank Awakened, turning her into an ice sculptor in the pose of screaming.
Within a matter of seconds, the entire training chamber was completely frozen, the temperature dropping below zero since everything in the training chamber was either frozen into an ice sculptor or was impaled by ice crystals. Fortunately for the present Awakened, they were only frozen and not impaled by the ice crystals. The training facility had no windows, so one can only imagine how deathly freezing it was.
The only person now remaining in this frozen hell of a training chamber was none other than the young girl, she still floated in the center of the hall, unconscious of the disaster her ability was causing.
Not long after, a loud boom sound echoed, the massive electronic steel doors to the training chamber were punched through as a male elderly figure zoomed into the chamber, followed by another elderly male. Both elderly males flashed into the chamber as they stood fifty meters away from the girl, these two men were the Watson Head and the WAO Chairman.
Seeing the floating girl in the distance, the Watson Head expressed with panic as he bellowed.
"Athena!"
The WAO Chairman held a cautious attitude as he scrutinizingly surveyed the scene. Seeing the entire frozen hall and the frozen sculptors of the numerous Awakened, he sucked in the cold air as he spoke to the Watson Head, whose attention was completely focused on the girl floating with a vast amount of White Energy and Verdant Mana surrounding her.
"Julius, what is going on-"
While the Chairman spoke, a large ice crystal flew at him at a fast speed; the Chairman remained calm as he caught the icy crystal with his bear right hand. But like the others, the ice crystal emitted an icy glow as the Chairman's hand began freezing at a visible speed. Looking at his frozen palm which was slowly spreading to his arm, the Chairman released a slight amount of Verdant Mana as it countered the icy freeze, he then tightly gripped his fingers as the ice crystal was crushed into countless pieces.
"Old friend, I will tell you everything later, but right now, I'm going to need your help saving my granddaughter. Looks like things are worse this time, that White unknown energy has become three times as strong since the previous two times."
The Watson Head, Julius Watson, said as he maintained his gaze on his granddaughter who seemed to be in a precarious state. Hearing his old friend, the Chairman nodded as he replied.
"Yes, but we must hurry, her condition is getting worse. Whatever that White Energy is, it seems to be fighting against the Mana energy of our world, and that fight must have caused her Awakened Ice ability to go catastrophic since it seems to be using both energies to cause its attacks."
Both elderly men agreed as they mentally prepared to face the situation.
At the same time while her grandfather and the WAO Chairman were in the process of taking action... The girl, Athena, floated in the middle of the chamber as she radiated two different energies. Slowly tracing into the white-possessed eyes of the girl, countless images and voices flashed and appeared in the girl's mind, causing her to tremble due to the excess amount of information being relayed in her mind.
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