The mastermind

Three hours ago

A young Hispanic man was on his sixth cup of iced tea and was reading a book in a cafe. After checking the store the second time, Michael came back to the cafe and waited till the Parlor closed. Michael saw Nate close the store after a while. He then went to a nearby alley and consumed the camouflage potion.

It was already dark so he walked to the Tattoo parlor and knocked on the door.

Nate opened the door and checked the streets. Michael slipped in and hid near a corner. Nate came back and locked the door. Then Michael ended up spending the next 30 minutes watching Nate clean up. He was running out of patience when Nate finally headed to the back room.

Michael was surprised when he saw Nate open the hatch to the basement. Now he was almost 99% sure that he found the hackers. He followed Nate down the stairs and checked out the basement.

There were two others waiting. Everything was packed and the room looked deserted. Michael felt like if he had waited until tomorrow then he would have missed the hackers. He saw Nate speaking to the others. Michael quickly dispelled the camouflage and pointed a gun at Nate.

Present time

Michael's face turned sour when he saw the other pull out pistols. Things just got a lot more complicated.

" Put the gun down or he won't live." Michael warned them. Hopefully, he can still salvage the situation.

They looked at each other then looked back at him. "Who are you?" the girl asked.

" Just a man with some questions. Nobody will get hurt as long as I get some answers." Michael explained.

" Its three vs. one; what makes you think you will get what you want?" Nate asked. He turned around and tried to grab the intruders gun. If the intruder was looking for answers then he would not kill them until he gets what he wants.

Michael used his gun stock to knock Nate out. The others started shooting; The bullets bounced off Michael. He felt like he was in a full body massage "Ahhh so relaxing". However, he had to deal with the situation; The shooters had emptied their clips and was staring at Michael like he was a demon.

He quickly used remote collection and absorbed their guns. Then he knocked them both out. Then Michael cursed the idiots under his breath. If it was before, he could have let the hackers go; however, now that they saw his special abilities. They could only walk the road to the afterlife.

Michael tied them up and started checking the room for any more weapons. After clearing the room. He separated the three into different corners. He planned to interrogate them separately to get the best results. The deception detection skill might detect lies but they could choose to omit the truth.

He made sure that the others were sleeping and plugged their ears. Then he woke Nate up.

" Hello Nate, don't worry as long as you answer my questions, nothing will happen to you." Michael assured Nate.

Nate nodded his head and promised to cooperate. He knew he had no other options. This man had superhuman abilities. Nate did not know how he took down two people with guns without being injured. Nate feared that the intruder was some type of super soldier; therefore he did not hesitate to answer the questions.

" First, Tell me about who you are and specifically explain the hacker organization you belong to." Michael ordered. He listened to Nate's answers and confirmed that he had the right people.

" Did you hack into the game servers of Eminence Gaming recently?" Michael asked the question he was here for.

" Yes, We were hired to harass them for a week. Wait did they send you?" Nate looked up at Michael. He was trying to figure out why they were being attacked.

" Just answer my questions. Don't try to get smart with me." Michael warned

" Yes, We were hired to do that job." Nate admitted.

"Who hired you?" Michael asked.

"We were contacted by middlemen who facilitate the contracts." Nate nervously replied.

Michael smiled; Nate conveniently dodged the question. " Answer the question! Do you know who hired you to attack Capos servers?" Michael asked again.

" No, I don't know who hired us." Nate tried to plea.

Michael broke his arms and asked again. However, Nate kept saying denying knowledge. Michael could tell that Nate was lying. Unfortunately, Michael was not that skilled in torture. However, he came prepared.

Michael took a Ghost pepper hot sauce from his inventory and started forcing it down Nate's throat.

Nate felt like his head was on fire. His face was red and he started coughing. His tongue was so hot he felt like it was starting to melt.

Michael pulled out a jar of milk and started dangling it in front of Nate. " All you have to do is tell me who it is Nate. Then you can have this milk."

" ER games. We were watching the middle-man. We checked his calls and figured it out on our own." Nate confessed. He regretted tracking the middleman; He should not have tried to investigate the source.

Michael threw the milk jar at Nate. The milk spilled on the floor and Nate started slurping it. Then Michael knocked him out and proceed to do the same thing with the other three people.

He wanted to cross-check the information and learn any additional details Nate omitted. The others said the same thing as Nate however, they had more to say. It turns out that the group had been operating some sites on the dark web for passive income. Their most popular site was a child-porn site.

After learning about their actions, Michael felt less guilty over what he had to do next. Michael knew that he had to kill them; however, he was holding back because he wanted to see if he can make them work for him.

Michael could not think of any way to ensure their loyalty. "System, how come there is not a loyalty skill or a tool to ensure loyalty." Michael asked.

[ The most important part of being an emperor is ensuring the loyalty of your followers. This is the one skill that you must hone through experience. If the system provides enslavement tools then you will never learn the most crucial skill necessary to become an Emperor. You will not become an emperor, you would just be a glorified slaver. However, do not underestimate the system. There are skills provided that if used in creative ways can ensure loyalty among followers. You must think outside the box. Furthermore, Once you break through to supreme tier, you will have a lot more options.]

Michael considered the answer from the system. He knew that he relied too much on the system. However, everything he achieved was because of the system. The only skill he could use that he had right now was the Deception detection skill. He could periodically interrogate his followers to make sure that they are still faithful. Michael hoped that there would be better options at the supreme tier; either way, he was ready to take on the challenge.

Furthermore, Michael knew that he could become an expert hacker in weeks. So why would he rely on others when he could do something himself? Michael spent most of his childhood as an orphan who did not have anyone else to depend on; therefore, he always prioritized his own strength first.

Michael turned to the hackers. Unfortunately, he had no way to ensure their loyalty and even if he did; they simply knew too much. They had seen him resist bullets and use the inventory. He did not want to end up as a lab rat.

Michael choked them to death and put their bodies in his inventory. This time he chose not to resort to arson. Michael cleaned out the place and took all of their hacking equipment. He did not plan on using any of them until he had the skills to make sure that the computers did not have any traps.

After making sure that he did not leave any clues behind, Michael walked out of the store and changed his disguise to the one he used at the hotel. He went back to the hotel and got some sleep. The next day Michael started his journey back home.