The team was given the rest of the time off and prepare for their mission. As for the damage Ashton caused... he would have to pay for it, there was no way around it. If he was to believe Mazton's words, the cost of building one impenetrable was a small amount of 200,000 Yenos while repairing one should cost around 125,000 Yenos.
Even though it was a 'small' amount for Mazton, gathering the amount was no joke for a mercenary at Ashton's level. He would have to save up for a long time to repay the money. Thankfully. Mazton was kind enough to help him.
Seeing as Ashton would not be able to return the money any time soon, Mazton came up with a payment plan for him. Mazton would pay for the damages now and Ashton would have to pay him back.
Ashton could pay the money in as many instalments as he wanted, without an interest rate too. As for payment, for every job he completes 50% of his pay would be docked and would go towards the repayment of his 'loan'.
This was the best plan for now, as Mazton was more than willing to keep the matter under the covers. If he wanted, he could have refused to help Ashton and watch on as his favorability with the association dropped astronomically. That would have hurt Ashton a lot worse than receiving a reduced pay.
[You good?]
'Yeah...'
[Stop sulking around. Why don't you try looking at the brighter side?]
'Brighter side? Tell me which side is brighter? The one in which my father got killed by some psycho killer or the one in which he became the psycho killer.'
[Um... yeah... my bad.]
Ashton sighed as he rolled in his bed. His thoughts were getting a bit erratic by now. However, he wasn't as clueless as the rest of them because unlike the rest of the team. After all, he had a way to know whether the Phantom was his father or not and the only thing he needed to find that out was one look.
Just one look through [Detection] and everything would become crystal clear. No matter how good a person was at disguising themself, they won't be able to dodge [Detection].
If it turned out the Phantom wasn't his father, then Ashton would be able to deal with him. Even if he turned out to be his father, he would still deal with him... in a different way of course.
'Should I tell mom about it...? No. Not yet.'
The only thing he wasn't certain of was his mother's reaction. It had been over a decade since they were forcefully separated. On top of that, everyone knew it wasn't child's play to survive in the undead region back on earth.
With these points counted, Avalina most likely believed that her husband was dead. Everyone did. However, if Ashton informed her about the truth about the Phantom it would break her regardless of the truth.
As such, he was contemplating not telling her about it no matter the result. She had already suffered a lot, there was no way in hell Ashton was going to let her suffer anymore.
While he was thinking about all that, the Kernel Tower was placed under lockdown. No one was allowed to enter or leave the space station for a couple of days. This was a countermeasure they did not take the last time as it was a hindrance to their business. But this time, Mazton wasn't ready to leave a single stone unturned.
Still, in Ashton's eyes, this move was a bold yet useless move. After reading the Phantom's file, he had gotten to know a bit more about the mysterious assassin.
He was someone who prepared his plans months in advance. As a professional, he wouldn't make any hasty decisions and carefully pick the targets which he would like to turn into. It was likely, that he had already infiltrated the tower long ago. That is if he was planning on killing Eula while she was inside the Tower.
However, the same fact worked in the mercenaries' favour as well. It had only been a week since the hit was ordered, therefore it was most likely the Phantom did not get enough time to prepare for the task and did not accept the job. At this time, Ashton could only hope that was the case. If it wasn't, well, he'll simply have to deal with it.
At this point, there was a knock on his door. Ashton pulled Balmond out of the inventory and hid it behind the door before showing himself. It could be possible the Phantom was behind the door waiting to lunge at him as soon as he opened the door.
"Who is it?"
"Ena-117, sir. I'm here with the information you requested." The robot replied, but Ashton did not open the door, not yet.
"What is the colour of a blackhole?" He asked through the door.
It was the sequential password Mazton had come up with to try and negate the possibility of the Phantom gaining access to anyone involved in the mission.
"You should try asking your mother. She got a blackhole in herself." The robot replied and Ashton opened the doors, allowing her entry, "You have no idea how vulgar it felt to say that out loud, sir."
"If you want to complain, contact the Admiral. It wasn't my idea to make such a bizarre password." Ashton shrugged before accepting the tablet from Ena's hands, "It contains the information of everyone involved in the operation, correct?"
"Yes. Admiral Mazton himself has confirmed the details. No one other than the ones listed is allowed to remain inside the tower." Ena replied, "As per your request, I have also added the name of the robots currently stationed aboard the ship."
"Thanks, you can leave now."
Ena excused herself and was about to leave when her curiosity got the best of her, "If you don't mind me asking, why did you request that information of all things?"
"Your voice might be emotionless, but your intentions aren't. Don't worry, I'm not the phantom if that's what you're worried about." Ashton replied while casually flipping through the tabs, "Aside from that, if you're wondering what I would do if the guy is my father, then rest assured, I know not to mix business and family together. I hope that puts your mind at ease."
"Yes... my apologies for wasting your time." Ena apologised and left the room while Ashton memorised the details of everyone involved in the mission.
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