Who are you? (2)

"Young master, it looks like you have caught on to something." My heart skipped a beat again, but this time it wasn't for her beauty but for the extreme coldness in her voice.

"But don't use it, your dickless brain; nothing good would come, and you should continue running." She added, pointing her fingers towards the two open paths.

This wasn't a suggestion; rather, it was the only choice, and her countenance exuded the aura that she wasn't willing to entertain no for an answer. The number six was still shining on the left side of her forehead.

"Why so serious?" Seeing all grave mood, I said it jokingly.

"..."

"..."

Silence.

Every individual stood silent, and not a single visible muscle moved in their countenance.

"Staying silent, huh! Did that son of a bitch duke teach you this?"

I wanted information. Any information at this point felt very important to me.

And this question was testing the waters.

Silence.

Staying silent and not moving an inch of muscle—that couldn't have been done by anyone if they weren't taught properly. However, they did not even blink or avert their gazes when I outright disrespected the man who fed them.

This was a major information leap for me.

'None of them are knights.'

If they were duke's knights or even normal knights, they would have shown some kind of reaction until now, and this was the information Allen Liquidator had learned over the course of his life.

Either these individuals were hired criminals or were the hidden troops of the duke.

But the probability of them being the hidden troops was also not convincing, because the Kingdom of Feliora had many internal conflicts and Nobles would never do something as foolish as show their hidden cards in daylight.

But this also led to a question...

'Why would the duke, who had powerful knights, not send his knights but hire these goons to chase me?'

"Ah!" I exclaimed as these questions themselves gave me some hints.

'Case me, but not capture me, and lead me to slums or somewhere, and it might be that the duke is waiting himself there.'

"Ahh, what a miserable way to do things!" I yelled, making my voice sound frustrated.

I was frustrated, as the things the duke had done made no sense because if he wanted to capture Allen Liquidator, he could have done it through his knights in the hotel already, as it clearly seemed that he knew Allen Liquidator's location.

"This all doesn't make any sense." My voice sounded even more frustrated as I yelled again.

"Me too!"

"Huh?!" I glanced at the voluptuous lady who just spoke; her voice and countenance were enigmatic.

Receiving my gaze, she continued, "Me too; I don't understand how you dropped that building on us, and that was the part of the same building that had just vanished in thin air."

Her penetrating gaze and her countenance demanded answers.

However, she tilted her head as if in confusion and continued, "Are you one of 'them'?"

She stopped and didn't continue any further.

But for me, this was a huge piece of information.

'One of them.' This word stuck in my mind.

Both sides were at a standstill, and none moved.

'One of them—does this mean there are people like me who can collect things and release them, or there are people who could teleport things or people with superpowers?'

The word superpower brought a haunted memory to resurface a bit before Allen shut it down.

My mind raced with thoughts, but my face remained impassive, showing no visible emotions even after hearing the words of the voluptuous lady. As if my lack of response triggered her realization of the stern reality, her countenance started to change, and a sense of seriousness seeped from her expression.

"Listen up, Nolen, Dustin, and the rest of you. Be ready for anything; this mission has turned dangerous. The individual we're up against is one of 'them,' so don't underestimate him."

"Although we were initially instructed to capture him alive, don't hesitate to use lethal force if the situation demands it."

"He possesses some sort of teleportation ability, capable of moving objects, even massive ones. Avoid getting too close; attack from a distance and deplete his energy. Once he's weakened, we'll close in and execute formation 'Kite.'"

That was her analysis of my collector system's power.

She glanced to both sides and instructed swiftly and rapidly.

And not wasting any more time...

"Team Delta Attack."

"Team Alpha, Beta with me, team Charlie support."

Like a well-organized team of attackers, they swiftly assumed their positions, forming a strategic formation.

The ones equipped with jet packs ascended into the air, their wristwatches transforming into energy-charged gloves that emitted a dark grey aura, accumulating immense power.

Meanwhile, those riding magnetic skateboards and wearing magnetic skates surrounded me, their wristwatches mirroring the jet pack users, converting into the same energy-releasing gloves.

One group approached me from the ground while the other from the air.

My first life-and-death battle

The battle, which I didn't begin but was dragged into,

My hands were trembling.

Reading about this kind of situation in a novel and facing it in real life were totally different things.

BOOM! VOOM! BOOM! VOOM!

My heart pounded my ribcage as if to break it.

The glow of those gloves and the surging energy they held reflected in my eyes, causing my confidence to drain.

My legs felt weak, and my hands trembled.

And as if feeling cold, I shivered.

And it was at that moment,

"Someone said compromise isn't an option." Sia, sitting on my right shoulder, spoke, "Pathetic, you are utterly pathetic, master."

"You spoke big words, but now that it's time for you to step up and fight, you are chickening out. What did I even expect from you, tsk?" Her tone was as arrogant as ever.

She was right; those were some big words, but did I say them on a whim?

No, not this time.

In the cultivation world, I casually thought about taking over the sect without having the strength to back it up, but not this time.

No, not this time.

Slap! Slap!

I slapped my cheeks hard and looked ahead.

Did my trembling hands and shaking legs stop?

No.

Did I feel scared?

Yes.

But was I going to chicken out? Was I going to back down from my first life-and-death battle, which would shape me for my harsh future?

No. Not Today.

My eyes locked on the voluptuous lady.

Her eyes still seemed beautiful.

Extremely beautiful.

But not the situation.

"Even if you are one of 'them' and we don't have information about you, don't you dare take us lightly; we have experienced many harsh battles, and this will be just one of them." Her stern voice reached my ears, and as if this were the cue to start the battle, every individual that had surrounded me was in the shooting stance.

"I don't know who 'them' are, but compromise isn't an option," I replied, my voice calm but trembling.

"Attack!" She exclaimed.

'Collect!'

'Release!' I commanded.