Superhunt

Chapter 19: "Heterobloods!"

The hand holding the cigarette trembled slightly. He took a deep puff of the cigar and said softly into the communicator, "I'm not doing it anymore."

"That 'Richguy' is too sharp. The killer fired, and in half a minute... maybe even less than half a minute, Richguy caught him. 'Fox,' who is with Richguy, is at least B-level, possibly close to A." He repeated, "I'm not doing it anymore! I don't want to lose my life!"

"I overestimated you. I thought you'd have more courage," came a hoarse voice from the communicator, a voice disguised by a voice changer, "I promised you, after it's done, I will arrange a new identity for you and let you leave Black Sea City to live somewhere else."

"I will lose my life before I embrace a new life," Snake Python said, "It's too dangerous. Damn it, damn it! I shouldn't have been stupid enough to agree to kill Richguy! Red's methods are more terrifying than you imagine, and Richguy isn't easy to mess with, either. They will suspect me... they are already suspecting me! After Richguy was shot, he called me to ask where I was, This guy is definitely testing me!"

"The risk I'm taking is a lot bigger than you described. I can't take the risk anymore," Snake Python said anxiously, growing more fearful as he thought about it.

"Don't shirk responsibility. You failed to attach sufficient scent markers on your teammates, which is the main reason for the current passive situation. If the scent markers were successful, everyone who attended the meeting tonight would have been easily tracked, and we would have started beheading operation one by one. You wouldn't have to be so nervous," the other person said coldly, "But you only marked a few people with your scent, and the amount was too small, it only lasted for two hours and then dispersed, making it difficult to track them."

"If it wasn't for the tight schedule, the opportunity too good to pass, and 'Richguy's' identity and the 'important' role he played in the meeting, I wouldn't have asked you to make a move tonight. You know how much damage a well-trained mole can cause to an organization. Richguy must die, and if we miss the scent marker tonight, we won't be able to track him! We don't even know who Richguy is! You failed to kill Richguy as I instructed and didn't even manage to get a sample of his body tissue. This is your mistake."

"Red didn't explicitly admit that Richguy is a mole; not admitting means there's a suspicion and needs in-depth investigation. What use is it for you to determine that Richguy is a mole? You hastily made a wrong decision, but I have to bear the consequences," Snake Python argued, "And about that scent marker... I just took out a cigarette and puff, and Fox extinguished it. What could I do? I only had one specially made cigarette doused with water and couldn't be lit."

Just thinking about it made Snake Python tired.

He had walked into the meeting room and lit a cigar, a specially made mission prop. The scent particles released when it was lit could stick to people for a long time, forming a scent marker that humans couldn't see or smell; only a certain kind of nocturnal insect would follow the scent marker.

Snake Python had timed it perfectly. He lit the cigar before the meeting started and waited for the smoke to fill the meeting room. Everyone who entered the meeting room would be marked. After the meeting, he released the insects, and by watching the direction the insects flew in, he could roughly locate the position of those marked. The insects were also specially processed; if you put on night-vision goggles, you could see them emitting conspicuous fluorescence.

He had considered everything thoroughly, knowing the bartender's super ability. He didn't use any high-tech tracking devices.

But man proposes God disposes.

Just as he lit the cigarette, Fox splashed water and extinguished it, extinguishing the hope and Snake Python's plans.

Originally, Richguy and Fox had some scent marker on them. After Snake Python reported the content of the meeting to his contact, the contact offered a high code price, asking him to shoot Richguy.

Snake Python set everything in motion, released the insects, estimated the route, went to a bar, and planted parasitic Xenobiotics creatures in a few scapegoats to control them, thinking everything was foolproof.

But the assassination mission failed, utterly failed.

"I don't want to take any more risks," Snake Python said.

"What do you want to do if you don't want to take risks? You're in too deep; do you want to stay under the control of the Mechanical Dawn, being brainwashed by them?" the voice in the communicator asked. "Listen to me. Stay undercover until the right moment arrives. I can help you become yourself again. You're not called 'Snake Python.' You haven't used your real name for so long. Haven't you forgotten what it is?"

Snake Python fell silent.

"If you feel threatened, you can stop your actions for now and focus on transmitting information," the voice softened. "Richguy is a threat to our side, so I was eager to deal with it and failed to accurately assess the abilities of Richguy and Fox, which led to the mission failure. I share the responsibility, and it was my mistake."

Snake Python was still hesitating, "But I..."

"An additional five million," the voice was calm, "once your mission is complete, you can take this money and go wherever you want."

"What I lack is not money, you don't understand," Snake Python said.

The person on the other side of the communicator paused momentarily before saying, "One vial of God's Blood added."

Snake Python was stunned.

"Your talent has reached its limit. The path of the awakened stops here; you'll forever be a C-class, unable to touch higher levels," the voice coaxed, "When you can't see hope on the path of the awakened, you can choose to start over on a different path... You know what path that is."

"Heterobloods!" Snake Python's eyes widened.

"Yes. Take God's Blood, become Heterobloods, you can become stronger," the voice said, "If you're strong enough, the Mechanical Dawn won't be able to do anything to you."

"I've heard that Heterobloods will turn into monsters..."

"The safety of God's Blood greatly increases after it has been diluted and filtered, and the chance of mutation is much less. You can't avoid all risks."

Snake Python was silent for a long time before saying, "Fine, I'll continue to be a mole. As you said, I'll only relay information; I won't get involved in anything else. Don't expect me to kill for you again."

"No problem," the voice said generously. "You must give me more information about Richguy, height, body features, and voice. The more detailed, the better."

Snake Python thought for a moment, "Richguy uses a voice changer, real voice unknown, height appears to be around 1.75 meters, gender also unknown..."

"Gender unknown?" The person on the other end was taken aback.

"The codename 'Richguy' points too obviously to gender. It might be a smokescreen, but the true identity of Richguy could be a woman. You see, a height of 1.75 meters could either be a man or a woman. What if Richguy is disguising by wearing breast-binding? There are many mad people in Mechanical Dawn, most of whom have strange habits, like Red, who has a quite strange hobby." Snake Python said very cautiously. "In my experience, even if the codename 'Richguy' sounds like a man, you can't really consider this person as a man! What if Richguy's super ability is related to disguise, then what?"

"...Your information is not virtually valuable. I can't pinpoint a target." The person said.

"As an undercover agent, of course, I was overthinking." Snake Python was very nervous.

"You used to think too much but never this much. Did Richguy scare you out of your wits tonight to make you have such wild thoughts?" The person sneered.

Snake Python was about to retort when he noticed his bracelet flashing. Rose had sent a message.

"I have to go. My teammate is looking for me." Snake Python closed the communicator, opened his bracelet, and said loudly, "Hey, boss!"

"Finished your late-night snack yet? If so, get over here and start working," Rose said icily.

"Yes, yes, I'm on my way! I'll be there in five minutes!"

After ending the communication, Snake Python slapped his thick face, straightened his back, and his whole person returned to a spirited state like a crowing rooster.

He left the spot, hopped on his motorcycle, and drove off to find Rose.

...

"This room is not bad," Fox was looking around.

Jonathan opened the cabinet and found it filled with various types of clothes, from hip-hop wear to suits; everything was there. The small compartment next to it was filled with all kinds of cosmetics, probably for the organization's members to disguise themselves.

He pulled out clothes and knocked on the bottom of the cabinet. The wooden board made a hollow sound. He lifted it to see a secret passage underneath. Red said this passage led directly to the intricate city sewer, an escape route.

They had returned to the Ruby Bar again, this time on the third basement level, in a safe house for organization members to rest and heal.

Fox tore open a can of fruit and began to eat, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

All the emergency food in the safe house was canned, and there were separate boxes for medicines and weapon supplies. Behind a painting on the wall, there was a safe filled with gold bars. The Second World was a cashless society, but gold, as a precious metal, was still in circulation and was a hard currency in black market transactions.

"How are you going to work tomorrow morning?" Fox asked.

"I'll take the secret passage," Jonathan said, sitting on the bed and studying the sewer lines on a map.

He glanced at the time; it was three o'clock in the morning. If he continued like this, day and night, he would eventually die from exhaustion.

"Where should I sleep?"

"On the floor?" suggested Jonathan.

Fox had no objection. He slept on the couch while resting at Jonathan's house and never expected to sleep in a bed.

After finishing his can of fruit, Fox grabbed a blanket, spread it on the floor, and lay down, wrapping himself in it, ready to sleep.

Jonathan turned off the lights and lay in bed. Out of all the people he knew, Fox was the most reliable.

If Jonathan had to pick the person least likely to kill him among all the people who attended the meeting, it would be Fox. His super power was strong, and killing Jonathan would be effortless for him. A mere flick of his finger would end Jonathan's life. Fox was a pure person with few thoughts on his mind. This was the main reason why Jonathan trusted Fox.

The second one would be Red. Red knew Jonathan's identity, his mission, his home location, and his position in the investigation department. If Red wanted to kill Jonathan, it would also be simple.

If Jonathan had to pick someone he found most suspicious...he would choose Snake Python.

Because he was too conspicuous and acted too foolishly.

Snake Python did not seem to be deliberately playing the fool; all his behaviors were natural, and there were no traces of performance. But Jonathan just found him suspicious, without any logical reason.

Jonathan thought back and forth, self-analyzing, trying to figure out when he started to have a bad impression of Snake Python. He remembered that the most displeasing thing about Snake Python's smoking habit.

Jonathan dislikes the smell of cigar smoke.

He was lying in bed, unable to sleep, when Fox asked softly, "Why aren't you sleeping yet?"

"Your breathing is too loud," Jonathan replied.

Fox said, "I'll try to breathe lightly."

Jonathan thought calmly for a moment, then reached out and messaged Red, "Focus on Snake Python. I think something's off about him."

Soon, Red replied, "Received."

It was nearly four in the morning, and he had to sleep.

Tomorrow, Jonathan would have to face a new challenge - he needed to go through a formal interview with the various group leaders in the investigation department.