Chapter 172: Commotion
Seth moved like a measured machine, every strike letting out a reverberating hum.
His biceps torqued with grace, as his sweat-soaked skin glistened with each spark ignited at every strike, illuminating his finely sculpted, steel-coiled muscles.
Kylie swallowed, shaking her head and patting her face with both hands. As much as a feast for the eyes this was, she also had a job to do.
So after giving a lingering, reluctant gaze, she turned her focus back to the God Hand device.
Her eyes flashed. Suddenly, deep down, she didn’t want to be outdone by Seth. She wanted to prove that she was worthy.
Worthy of what? She didn’t know. This feeling in her chest was alien to her.
She had barely met this guy for a day, and she was already bordering on obsession.
It was as if every biological drive in her body craved Seth.
They had been dormant for so long, naturally because she thought she was above everyone. She always saw herself as superior, always the better.
She stared at her hands, but today she finally met her match. Though she couldn’t access the full scope of Seth’s abilities, instinctively she could tell this guy was every bit as much a monster as her.
Kylie’s eyes flashed. She suppressed the alien feelings, her eyes turning serious. It was time to work.
Kylie operated the God Hand device like it was a part of her. She had long memorized every detail from the manual.
And now, implementing it, it was like giving a tiger wings.
Her mental processing speed raced at a staggering pace. Gradually, an infatuated glint of curiosity burned at the back of her gaze, a thrill she always longed for washing through her being.
To think her rank limited her capabilities this much, but with this device that limitation might as well not exist.
Honestly, if the engineers of Gione Corporation were here, they would be horrified at the speed at which a Shackled Rank creature mastered their device.
One had to know, their faction was the culmination of the brightest minds in the cosmos. The God Hand (Model: 6Exo99) was their latest work.
The raw computational prowess of this machine could turn the brains of most Awakened Rank creatures to mush. Even those a rank above would use it with caution.
And here it was, God knows how it appeared in a remote corner of the universe, manhandled by a Shackled Rank creature.
It was enough to drive most mad.
That was just the raw prowess of humanity’s racial trait.
Unlike most races, humanity’s traits were versatile in the sense that their active trait wasn’t only useful for fighters.
No, not by a long shot. As a matter of fact, it had an even more exaggerated effect on intelligence.
Plus, with the limitless potential passive always tugging on the ceilings of their limits... it was safe to say the amount of intellect a human could show was terrifying!
Time raced, with all three staying dedicated to their duties. Seth was lost in the craft of smithing.
Brandon focused on constantly regulating the temperature according to specs.
Then there was Kylie, who had already finished drafting the primal gene pattern and was in the process of imprinting.
The commotion caused by their crafts reverberated so far, every scientist in the research center felt it.
The subtle clang that persisted to the ear, accompanied by the slight reverberation that shook the earth.
Everyone was drawn to the workshop, some out of genuine curiosity, some out of fury.
Finding it unethical to disrupt the atmosphere for others just because you were working.
Engineer Ron, though, served as a blockade, shouldering the complaints but making sure no one disrupted the duo.
He didn’t know what the two were working on.
But he’d be damned if he’d let these old cogs cock-block his granddaughter!
What better form of bonding was there than sharing a craft?
Whatever it was those two were doing, he didn’t care. But what he was sure of was that by the time they were done, the knot should be tied.
He only prayed deep in his heart Seth would make enough impression to shake his granddaughter’s heart.
The elder folded his wrinkled hands behind his back, standing straight-backed before the pathway to Kylie’s workshop, turning down another batch of busybodies.
The reason he was so interested in Seth was simple: because of Dyson’s Mecha Index 1.
For that lad to so casually gift out that manuscript worth more than their entire civilization so easily...
Something told him there would be more where that was coming from.
And if there really was, he’d like to be first in line.
And one of the easiest ways to do this was to simply become family. But though the elder had selfish interests, he would never force on his granddaughter a man she didn’t desire.
Which was why he hoped so badly it would work out.
"Hmm?" Elder Ron’s brows creased, his eyes glinting cold as he watched a figure accompanied by a small crowd of white-cloaked scientists slowly come forward.
His hands behind his back clenched to fists. ’Now this would be troublesome.’
A bespectacled elder, noticeably younger than Elder Ron, estimated to be around his early fifties, led the group wearing a leisurely expression as a light smile sat on his lips.
His hair was bald, but his eyes glowed with an entrancing shade of amber.
"Old friend, would you like to explain to us what is happening?" The elder’s calm voice rang as he stared at Elder Ron.
Elder Ron snorted at the words old friend. "What is happening? I don’t recall anything that is your business happening."
Just as the elder finished speaking, that same persistent crisp clang rang, and the entire building rattled, this time the lights flickering.
The crowd of scientists started to let out hushed whispers of panic.
While Elder Ron’s expression turned awful.
"Ronald Hart! Speak while I’m still being nice. This isn’t something you can shoulder alone. This affects everyone, everyone’s projects, their lifelines. If these walls crumble it would be too much of a disastrous loss." The bespectacled elder’s expression grew more pensive as he berated Elder Ron.
’This prick!’ Elder Ron hissed as he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. This bastard’s reasoning was so sound he couldn’t find any flaw in his arguments.
The majority had been turned against him. Soon his prestige wouldn’t be able to keep them back for much longer.
"Carmen, you know well it’s an unspoken rule not to spy on another’s craft, nor disrupt them while working!" Elder Ron could only hope this would diffuse the tension a bit.
Carmen’s eyes flashed coldly. "And so? If they let their crafting process affect the others, we have every right to disrupt! Listen Ronald, I don’t care how smart or great your granddaughter is. Whatever she is doing, she has to stop now!"
As his voice died down, the crisp clang rang once more, the earth reverberating in tow.
Carmen’s eyes flashed as he stared at Ronald. It was unknown what he as thinking.
Elder Ron’s expression turned ugly as he could feel the situation going beyond what he could manage.
