Preparation [7]

Gio didn't have any status. It wasn't as if he could go and buy a housing that had already been manufactured and perfected. 

That would have been so much easier, and to buy a single one, it would have been much, much cheaper.

However, if he wanted to carry out this operation without alerting anyone, he had to make everything himself.

Machining wasn't his passion nor was it his talent. In terms of skills, he only had enough to make the most basic things.

Luckily, the design he had in mind didn't require much actual work from him other than assembly. He wasn't starting from sheet metal, after all. 

'It would have been harder if I had to find the stuff myself, but all of this was purchased after I left the market.

The Old Lady probably contacted Seb while he was undergoing his transformation. Regardless of when he'd been informed, he bought exactly what Gio needed and at a much higher quality than what Gio could afford.

'The main housing is almost completely built. If I just seal it, it'll be ready to hold anything.'

Gio's job was to build the actual release mechanism that would turn the poison into gas and distribute it.

It wasn't an easy job. Since he only had one try with the main materials, he used the money the Old Lady helped him save to buy much cheaper materials to experiment on.

He approached every step carefully and methodically with no intention of finishing in one day.

The creation of the housing became a part of his daily routine rather than something that ended in a few hours.

For the next two weeks, he went to the Dome whenever he had time and worked on the housing, testing its mechanisms so there wouldn't be any issues.

When he wasn't there, he was in the Wasteland. This was also the period when he needed to adapt to his new strength.

He stood in battle against the weaker beasts that he had been fighting thus far. The same Tier 1 beasts that caused him trouble and outsped him could no longer do so. 

He felt like he could even take Tier 2 beasts without dying.

'I'm definitely a lot faster and stronger, but my defense is the most important thing. That and my reaction time are the biggest changes after taking the serum.'

He felt like if he needed to react to something fatal, he would be able to get himself out of trouble much easier now.

'This is good.'

The foundation was already good. The Aether Core didn't respond to his movements yet, but once it did, the changes would only become more pronounced.

'Everything else is gathered. The housing is almost complete as well.'

Looking out into the Wasteland, Gio cracked a small smile.

'All that's left to do is train while I wait for Raymond's return.'

He was more than satisfied with the pace he was moving at.

Thus, even if it was somewhat boring and monotonous, he continued to live the same way, slowly and methodically taking baby steps forward.

The next three months passed like so. 

***

It was five and a half months after they separated when the zephyr returned to Gastle.

They took so long that Gio almost thought he was going to gain a new servant soon, but that was a little too imaginative.

Naturally, someone as high-class as Raymond wouldn't allow himself to become someone else's tool so easily. 

As always, the zephyr didn't land anywhere close to the city, but Raymond didn't make Gio travel the distance.

Rather, he approached in a desert crawler just like the ones Scavengers used. He brought with him a team of three people. The group was small enough to not cause a commotion, but their appearances certainly turned heads.

Raymond himself was quite handsome. The two women and the man he brought with him were also good enough to not fall behind him. 

When he first got Raymond's text on his phone, he wanted to invite them to the Dome. It was the most secure place to make the transaction, after all.

The Old Lady, however, believed that it was a bad idea for Gio to make his connections known. She had put in a lot of work to detach his name from hers so her enemies wouldn't touch him. She didn't need him ruining her effort with a single move. 

He didn't know she'd been doing that much, but now that he did, he truly appreciated it. He couldn't imagine the troubles that would have befallen him otherwise. Humanity's top researchers…

Their heads were always worth quite a lot of money.

Putting that aside, Gio ended up inviting Raymond to his own house since there wasn't a better place to meet. The neighborhood was quiet and in the outer rings, people didn't talk about the things they saw.

Their heads did turn, so the appearances of those four people would definitely be the talk of their households for a while, but that would be the end of it. 

"Welcome."

Gio smiled at the group of adults that exited the truck parked in front of his house. 

"Come in. I've been expecting you."

He held the door open and allowed them to walk in. There wasn't much space for all of them, but Gio had rearranged the place to make it easier for them to stand.

"I assume you aren't planning to stay for long…"

Gio's eyes drifted towards Raymond, who nodded in confirmation. 

"We'll leave after we've seen you're satisfied with the product."

"...so excuse me for not preparing any refreshments."

He didn't greet the other three, since it didn't seem like they wanted anything to do with him. Their glares weren't anything close to kind. 

'Is one of those two women the Natalia he mentioned last time, or did he fill his crew with as many women as possible?'

With idle thoughts in his mind, Gio faced Raymond with expectant eyes. 

There wasn't a need for them to delay the transaction, was there?

Raymond rolled his eyes and pulled a vial out of his inner coat pocket. On both ends, it had large hexagonal bolt-like seals ensuring that not even the fumes of the product within could contaminate the world outside. 

The glass was not ordinary either. It was made from a single sapphire crystal that had been charged with Aether to enhance its density. One could tell that it contained something volatile without even seeing the liquid inside. 

And that liquid was bad enough on its own. 

Its color was a combination of red, black, and brown, almost like rust mixed with oil. It filled up three-quarters of the vial, while the last fourth was inhabited by a strange orange smoke that emanated from the liquid itself. 

The smoke told Gio what class of Blood Serpent the poison came from. Of those Blood Serpents, the number that reached Tier 5 that also produced poison instead of venom…

"This is poison from a Tier 5 Whitefang Blood Serpent. It's worth a little more than the agreed price, but let's just call it an investment from me into your potential."

The moment Gio's thoughts were confirmed by Raymond's words, he almost leapt in excitement. 

Not only was it a Blood Serpent Poison perfect for the concoction he was making, but it was also the exact poison he'd mentioned to Raymond last time. 

'If I want something under 200,000 credits, there isn't a single thing better.'

Really, Gio almost felt apologetic for the first impression he had of the man.

Because unlike what he thought, Raymond could actually be someone worth forming a relationship with.