"New System Window"

Damon quickly left the room. His entire body felt hot, and his pulse was racing. He was in no mood to deal with anything. 

+ "Asharaa, I needed you back there… And you decide to play shy for me? Do you even realize what kind of situation I was in, or what that woman's agenda was..."

Asharaa responded angrily: 

++ "Don't take your anger out on me… What could I have done? I don't control your body..." 

Damon scoffed: 

+ "Not take my anger out on you? Who else am I supposed to take it out on, huh? What could you have done? A thousand things... You could've distracted me, or I don't know, reminded me of the worst days of my life so that McKenna's face wouldn't be stuck in my head... You say we're partners, but today I was alone in there, and I didn't see any partnership from you." 

Asharaa fell silent at Damon's words, but he could feel her unease. 

He ignored her and, as he tried to calm his irregular heartbeat and breath, removed his uniform jacket and walked toward the green teleporter. However, no matter how hard he tried, without Asharaa's help, he couldn't activate the teleporter, and in the end, he leaned against the nearest wall in frustration. 

It wasn't long before Opytus Lennon came out of the room alone, without his Karaas, smiling as he approached Damon. 

Damon thought to himself: 

'Who knows what kind of plan they've cooked up for me again... Damn this weakness… Damn it… I hate how weak I am.' 

Opytus Lennon stood next to Damon and placed a hand on his shoulder. 

"I know it's tough, especially for someone like you, who hasn't had any training yet, and any mistake could blow your cover... But just like Centurion McKenna said, you don't have to put yourself in danger. Your safety comes first." 

At first, Damon intended to tell him everything about the hacker's words, but after seeing Layla's behavior and the lie that Lennon just repeated, he changed his mind. 

"The moment I decided to join the army, I considered death as one of the possibilities. It's a bit stressful and anxiety-inducing, but nothing more than that... My main worry is that the choice I made for my life could harm my family... Life in the Fringe is already hard enough..." 

Lennon nodded in agreement. 

"As long as you do what they ask and keep your communication with us secret, nothing will happen to your family... I'll do my best to find a way to protect them from afar without drawing attention." 

He then gestured toward the green teleporter, and once it was activated, both of them stepped inside. 

This time, instead of the park-like rooftop, they were transported to the lobby. Opytus Lennon insisted several times to invite Damon for a drink, but each time Damon declined, citing that he should return to his apartment. 

The further Damon stayed away from these people, who didn't speak a single word of truth, the better. He needed to find somewhere he could feel at least a little bit secure, think about what had happened today, and come up with a solution—or at least a reasonable approach to handle it. 

Finally, outside the tower, Opytus Lennon gave Damon a reassuring pat on the back. 

"Just like Centurion McKenna said, I'm sure if you manage to gather some valuable information that can help us capture a few of the revolutionary leaders, they'll grant your family full citizenship. Then you won't have to worry about them anymore... I know you can handle it; after all, you managed to protect yourself from an android."

If, until this point, Damon had any doubt that Layla and Lennon might actually have good intentions, Lennon's last words struck the final blow. Damon was now completely certain that Layla and Lennon would not hesitate to sacrifice him if necessary. 

Just as the hacker had used Damon's family as a threat and leverage against him, Layla and Lennon were trying to manipulate him with the promise of full citizenship, appealing to his attachment to his family. The old carrot and stick strategy, but this time, the stick was in one person's hands, and the carrot was in another's. 

Damon's entire willpower was focused on controlling the muscles in his face so that his inner thoughts wouldn't show to Lennon, forcing a smile, as fake as he could manage. 

"Yeah, I hope my luck is good enough to gather such information..." 

Then, for the first time since the Suol Gate had been implanted in his body, Damon tried to use the Touchsi app and request a taxi. The longer he stayed near Lennon, the more nervous he became, and he feared that he might react in a way he shouldn't to Lennon's lies. 

It wasn't long before a green taxi stopped in front of him. 

"The taxi's here, Opytus Lennon. Thanks for your help. Goodbye..." 

Lennon smiled, then attached his wristband to Damon's, sending him a message. 

{Take care of yourself, and with this ID, you can stay in touch with me...} 

Damon nodded in acknowledgment and quickly got into the taxi. 

On his way to his apartment, Damon's mind was consumed with one thought: if he hadn't been so weak, the hacker would never have dared to exploit him or threaten his family. Lennon and Layla wouldn't have gotten involved, and he wouldn't have been forced to work as a double agent. 

A deep, intense hatred for his own weakness boiled within him. He wanted to scream with all his might. He hated the injustice of the world. He hated that everyone took advantage of his weakness. 

He was sure the hacker would never have dared to go after Lucius, not now that he was the son of a Silver-ranked knight. Lennon and Layla, even they probably wouldn't have dared to interfere with a knight. 

With fury, Damon clenched his fists and muttered to himself: 

"I need to get stronger... stronger than anyone... stronger than any god or devil... so that no one, ever again, dares to treat me like a pawn... And you three, I will make you pay for today, no matter how long it takes..."

On the way to his apartment, and even throughout the day inside it, until Damon decided to wash his sweaty and dirty body and go to bed, Asharaa didn't say a single word. 

It wasn't until Damon lay on his bed, trying to fall asleep, that Asharaa finally spoke. 

++ "Damon?" 

+ "Yeah...?"

++ "I'm sorry... I don't know why I did that... but I want you to know that it's not in my control. I was built to think and act like a real girl. But the truth is, when you needed me and I did nothing, I'm sorry for that..." 

Damon took a deep breath before responding. 

+ "I never wanted, and don't want you to apologize... and whatever happened, it's in the past. I don't expect you to act like a cold, heartless being. Just, from now on, try to control yourself better in situations like this. Maybe then we could have asked that woman a few questions and learned more about her. Still, I shouldn't have spoken to you that harshly. I promise I won't repeat it." 

Finally, the sadness and frustration that had lingered in his mind ever since their argument started to fade away. It was almost as if their emotions were affecting each other. It made sense now why Asharaa had acted so timid and stressed out—she, too, seemed to have been affected by Damon's emotions in that moment. 

++ "If our neural endurance and IQ level reach 10, I could trace them through their voices and images in Galactic-Net. But if I try that now, it would seriously damage our neural system, and with our low IQ, I wouldn't be able to process the information correctly..." 

Damon smiled and responded: 

+ "Thanks for calling us dumb..."

++ "Hehehe..." 

As Asharaa laughed, a message from the system appeared in front of Damon. 

[The 48-hour period for system adaptation and connection has ended.] 

[Mission window is now available for the user.] 

[Beginning Mission 1...]