Axis, like any teen, had a passion when he was younger. And like most youths, he was stupid at the time.

When he was 15, he met a girl. two years older than him.

He was instantly enamored by her and because he also thought he had the charmed for her, he pursued her...

But all he got was constant rejection, which naturally wasn't enough to push him away at that time.

Scratch that, a dozen rejections weren't enough to push him away, so he kept pursuing her.

She had her reasons for rejecting him, the primary reasons were that she wasn’t ready at that time, and the others were that he was too immature, not his type, and more.

His dumbass self didn’t take the hint though, and he kept pursuing her for months to the point where even the Cobalt gang members who beat him up for intruding in their main base area couldn't help but take pity on him.

It was only after he had gone through Cohrens torturous training that he realized his stupidity and stopped.

Though he was only 18 at the moment, it felt like a long time ago.

And now he was driving towards where she supposedly is…

[Yuri: I mean it, it was strategically the most possible position for you; although you have grown skills, Nikola and I still think you still need to be trained, and despite being supported, just going into the half is enough of a challenge already; you will have your hands full.]

[Yuri: Lil bro, this might be the start of a long cooperation between us and the cobalts; despite them being crude and untrained, if we could form some sort of cooperation, we wouldn't have to worry too much about them anymore, so please try to be nice to them when you meet them.]

[Yuri: Besides, aren't you over her already?]

His brother's messages filled the corner of his screen as he explained his reasons. Axis knew that his brother was just making excuses; he was familiar with the tone. This guy definitely set him up; Axis even bet that he was laughing his stomach out as he was sending their messages.

"Alright kid, I believe I don't need to remind you to stay cool-headed; you shouldn't let your emotions lead you."

A voice spoke to him at the back. Axis was driving his car, and Troy sat in the passenger seat and at the back.

A middle-aged, white-haired man with a noticeable, upgraded cataract replacing his right eye and a tough build lay on the back seat. He was called Biff. He was a veteran of the gang and had been in the gang for nearly 20 years already.

All the people in the car was part of the netrunner support team except those who couldn’t come because of something. They were ordered to meet with the Cobalts netrunner support team to get familiar with each other.

After that, they would try to gather more information about the mission location, the best spot to be, and how to escape.

“Well, if I see some familiar faces, I might not be able to hold myself back and beat them up. I remember that arrogant thug from Cobalt who keeps taunting me." Axis answered casually..

"Not that; heck, I've got a few I want to beat there too; I’m talking about that girl."

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

Axis expression froze at how direct Biff was.

"Hahahaha! This is going to be fun! I already plugged in a recording chip so that we could watch it back!" Troy cackled as he saw Axis's expression.

"Haah, Everyone gets through that at least once; don't be afraid of it; instead, be proud that you took the step."

Biff then started to lecture the two, to the point that Troy stopped his teasing at Axis.

Axis inwardly sighs in relief at this, and at the same time, the sudden operation disrupts his plans to complete the rescue mission from the father.

It was currently 8:57 p.m., and there had been no news about the assassination yet. He had no idea why, or maybe the guys weren't high enough to be on the news. Whatever it was, he thought of completing the job; after all, the job was to rescue the girl, not kill the father-son duo.

It was too bad he doesn't get experience from killing people otherwise….No, no, he didn’t want his path to be filled with that much blood.

"That one time,I had to choose between a mother and a son. It was a tough choice, and I was still a young lad at the time. You know what I did?"

Biff rambled on about his experience, and pretty soon, they reached their destination. It wasn't far; Cobalt's territory was just right next to Crimson Fang.

They parked the car and got outside.

[Signal/Noise]

A hologram of the name of the building was up in the air. It was a bar, and like Oddysea, this was where bountys got placed.

It was part of a 10-story building, and the entrance was a typical double glass door.

"Remember, calm yourself."

Biif advised one last time before he took the lead and entered the door.

"How does it feel to see your first love?" Troy chimed in on the side.

Axis just rolled his eyes. Although he was now Axis, That doesn't mean he was the same Axis as before.

Besides, it was years ago. He had gone through a lot already, and thinking of it, he couldn't help but sigh deeply and think that this past week had been too much for him.

As soon as Axis stepped foot inside, His eyes began to look in one direction. The layout of the bar was mainly the same as Odyssea.

His eyes scanned the counter as if they were looking for something and eventually stopped at someone.

It was a woman with bob-cut black hair with a taint of blue at the end; her sharp eyes glowed particularly blue like the ocean, and tribal-like markings on the sides of her eyes. Her lips were violet-colored, her nose sharp. She was about 1.7m tall, wearing a black leather jacket with a tank top underneath and black trousers.

She had an air about her, He couldn’t figure out what it was, then the woman sensed someone was looking at her and turned her head towards Axis as their eyes meet.

Axis very naturally, took his eyes away from here as he looked at the bunch of guys sitting by the counter.

"Well, if it isn't the crimson fang,"

“Heheh, meats are back on the menu!"

"Wait.. Only you three? Don't the crimson fang have enough people?"

"And they send two children?"

Four guys, looking like typical thugs, taunted the trio. Biff took a step forward for the three and said...

"Oh, aren't you Han? Last time I saw you, you were all bloodied up after being beaten by me."

It seems Biff recognized one of them as he taunted back.

Although he had repeatedly given advice to stay calm, being passive in such a situation won't help them. They needed to assert that they weren't pushovers.

One of the thug’s expressions turned sour as he recognized Biff.

"Piss off, old man, you just got lucky back then."

"Pftt.. three against one, and I got lucky? Hay hay, people can't accept defeat nowadays; if you can't accept defeat, then you can never improve."

"We don't need to hear your lecture!"

"Yeah, in fact..."

One of them stood up and cracked his neck. "You guys should be polite; you're in our territory now."

As if on cue, his companion's expression turned serious, and a couple of guys inside the bar looked at them with taunting smile.

"These guys..." Troy muttered with a sour expression.

Axis crossed his arms as he watched all this unfold, while inwardly he was amused by the situation. He knew things wouldn't go that far yet unless they were truly unruly and didn't respect their boss.

"I shouldn't have expected much from a bunch of lowlife thugs." Biff shook his head, stepped forward, and got close to the guy who cracked his neck.

"Well then, ladies first, go ahead, take your chance; it might be the only chance you'll ever have."

Biff took the provocation and taunted them back.

Axis couldn't help but show a smirk seeing this. Veterans are indeed different.

The place quieted for a moment as the standstill continued, but eventually, a voice broke the silence. A voice that was a bit deep for a woman, yet it had something soft and sharp in it.

"Knock it off; we're here to work together, not to brawl."