Chapter 140: Aggression
Faust had to admit he leaned forward a little when Larson mentioned the Olympic Knights. It was something he had only heard from Jason during the Third Wave.
"These were the New Gods thingy, right?" Faust said, feigning nonchalance.
"Yes, the Digital Gods thingy." Larson looked exasperated. "They control the entire planet now, but we still have problems.
"The World Council lost control of the prisons of the world. And now criminals and unstable elements roam the streets. Worst of all, the Planetary Stream awards them for their heinous acts. Some have come to possess weaker skills and items gifted to them by viewers."
Earth had its own stream? Interesting. And now these people had the power of Players. He could see where this was going.
"They are not equal in power to a Player at all," Larson clarified, "but they are a deadly and unique problem for the World Council to stop. They have already formed many terrorist groups to unseat us and have unfortunately received support from our New Gods."
"What?" Vicky couldn’t help but say. "Why... why would they do that?"
"All of the New Gods are not one mind. They are born from different aspects of our society."
As much as there was good and order in the world, evil and chaos lingered on the edges. One couldn’t exist without the other.
But now those little groups were starting to look interesting.
"’Still, I don’t like this gather everyone in one spot so you can nuke if need be’ plan," Faust said bluntly.
Larson laughed once again; this time it was less formal and more at his ignorance.
"As stupid as you may be led to believe we are, understand we know what situation we are in. The New Gods have told us what’s next: Dungeons and gates descending on the world. Incursions. More and more people will be taken into the Origin Trials."
Larson leaned forward, elbows on the table, and set a harsh look on Faust. "We understand how much we need Players. What we need is a process—vetting and observation—that will ensure you don’t go on a rampage."
Faust had to agree that he didn’t mind and understood. He wanted his family in a safe place. He wanted some guarantee that no Player would just throw a fireball at the twins when they were playing.
But he needed to establish that they could not control him and they should not cross any lines.
He got up suddenly and slammed his hand into the floorboard beneath his chair. The loud sound turned every single gun in the room on him, but Larson just frowned.
He pulled out a device, ripping it from the wiring connecting it to some hidden router, and dropped it on the table without a word.
"What is this?"
Larson was silent for a moment. Faust could practically smell the fear dripping from the soldiers around them. Fingers squeaked against triggers. Breaths stilled.
"It collects phone data and records things said in this room."
Arthur’s stoic features crumpled into anger. "You’re spying on us?"
"We spy on everybody as a matter of security. The extent of the invasion of privacy is warranted by the threat. Be reassured before this was done, an ethics—"
"Cut the bullshit, Larson," Faust said tiredly.
He walked closer to the man and one of the soldiers got closer, gun raised to Faust’s head. Vicky got up, turning pale. Arthur’s fists whitened as he clenched them harder.
And Faust just ignored him, placing two fingers on Larson’s shoulder. The man was cold as ice. Faust thought his father was composed, but Larson made Arthur look childish.
The older Asian man managed to look disdainful and uncaring at the same time.
But Faust could feel Larson’s pulse rise just from the contact of his two fingers. He could also feel the hidden shift within the man with his ridiculous Spirit.
Larson wasn’t fully scared. He was also calculating. Faust made sure to put the hand that just crushed those floorboards on his shoulder. White dust speckled his fingers.
It was a silent threat. All Faust needed was two fingers to break Larson.
"I understand your obligations, sir, but don’t spy on my family again. You can spy on me but allow them their privacy."
Larson didn’t say anything yet, then he raised his head a little to argue.
But Faust turned to the wide kitchen like a bloodhound, squinting. "Sniper?"
He disappeared into the shadow beneath him one moment, then reappeared with a huge sniper rifle, twirling it in his fingers like a pen.
"What’s this modified to kill? Hades? You guys are a bit too cautious."
Larson smirked. "This isn’t even our tertiary contingency."
’Tch, you can’t even scare this guy.’
Larson got up and dusted off his black suit. "How about this, Red God. I will ensure your family’s privacy."
"And if you don’t?" Faust raised an eyebrow. "Do I get to kill you?"
Everyone in the room shivered at the casual nature of his voice. Except Larson, who just had a composed look.
"Go ahead. An old fool like myself isn’t of much use these days anyway." Larson sighed, shaking his head. "You don’t understand that we can’t control the state of the world for long. Power will naturally shift to Players. So please bear with us in our twilight."
Faust pursed his lips, considering if he needed to push Larson more. He didn’t like his lack of reactions.
But he met his father’s eyes and saw the warning.
’You were always a bit too aggressive for business, Tiger.’ The words repeated in his mind for a moment.
Finally, Faust clicked his tongue and said, "Fine. I’ll work with you guys. But I should warn you. Any signs of malpractice and I will burn Compound Zeta down in ways you can’t even imagine."
Larson held out a hand. "I really don’t care. I’ve been up and down the damn country the whole day. I just want to go home."
They shook on it.
