Nemo returned to the rented apartment, ready to carry out the final important task.
The mission to rescue the hostages was about to begin, yet the driver working with Salamanda had not mentioned a word about it. Matthew didn’t ask either, as if he already knew how Nemo would handle the choice of this individual.
There were certainly no shortage of professional drivers capable of transporting hostages under the billionaire’s command, but Nemo still decided to ask Tolya for his opinion. It was an intuition honed through countless gaming sessions—if you didn’t team up with a certain player friend at a particular time for an event or dungeon adventure, you'd gradually lose contact with them.
This intuition, however, conflicted with Nemo's principle of not dragging ordinary people into dangerous situations, so he hesitated. In fact, before arriving at the apartment, he had even considered that if Tolya went out and he missed him, it would be fate’s way of ensuring the Russian continued living his carefree life.
Unfortunately, Tolya was at home. Tsk!
"Nemo, three strange things happened tonight," the Russian said, propping his feet up on the coffee table and making room on the couch for his Taiwanese roommate.
"Really? Tell me more." As usual, Nemo placed his equipment backpack into his room.
The curly-haired youth surprisingly didn’t rush to shower as he usually would, but instead, sprawled out on the couch with a relaxed expression, as if saying, "I'm already clean."
"First, you should be out there parkouring on the rooftop in your superhero suit, but instead, you’re relaxing so early and haven’t even locked yourself in your safe house investigating the bad guys."
"Is it wrong to finish my progress early and rest up for tomorrow? What’s the second thing?"
"Veronika invited the old Polish man to a fancy restaurant for dinner. Looks like her father wants to align with the Kingdom, so he sent his beautiful daughter to ask for his help. But the Pole barely finished his appetizer when he suddenly had to leave in a hurry, leaving Veronika terribly embarrassed. She was furious." Tolya couldn’t help but listen to his childhood friend complain. Later, she even wanted Tolya to check if the Polish old man's bookstore had caught fire, after he had rudely left the dinner.
Nemo didn’t mention that at that moment, Bookstore Owner likely discovered his store had been invaded by the KS man. After all, Nemo had left the study light on so prominently that anyone passing by could see it, which would likely lead to a tip-off. Moreover, Nemo didn't avoid the indoor surveillance cameras, essentially telling the Bookstore Owner, "Come back quickly! I’m waiting for you!"
"I wouldn't do such a boring thing." Tolya, too, sometimes wanted to become a snail and just stay home relaxing and doing nothing. Nemo had done that often, and Tolya, having tried it, found it quite enjoyable. So when others invited him out to play or when his childhood friend had some trivial request, Tolya would just pretend he didn’t hear it.
Though small, the freedom to decide whether or not to go out always made Tolya happy.
"The third thing, the police cars kept running down the four streets and seemed to have stopped near the bookstore. So, I told VeroniKa that the Pole’s place might actually be in trouble. If she was curious, she could have her subordinates investigate. I had diarrhea and didn’t want to go out."
"You have diarrhea? Is it serious? Did you take any medicine?" If that were the case, Nemo would need to reassess Tolya’s potential for tomorrow.
"Of course not. It just sounds more natural as an excuse not to go out." In recent days, Tolya had felt like his brain had diarrhea instead, as he couldn’t summon any energy.
"Tolya, are you okay?" Although the Russian Nemo had known since the first night of crossing into this parallel world had never been an ambitious young man, at least he had shown determination in chasing girls at the bar. Now, that energy had clearly faded. "Do you want to go back to work at the Westlake Restaurant?"
"No. After you left, I couldn’t work there alone anymore." That was the truth.
Would a lack of rent pressure cause a personality change? Of course! For instance, Tolya had turned into a reptilian creature lounging on the couch, watching TV all day, while Nemo became the dark shadow fighting villains and the crazy detective.
"When you come back, I’ll be able to enjoy some good food! Plus, I can listen to your stories about the underworld." After a long period of silence, the blue eyes finally sparkled again.
"The mafia gossip you share isn’t any less than mine," Nemo pointed out. After pretending to be lame, Tolya had actually become more in-the-know. Without having to work as a waiter, Tolya spent his days lounging at home, which worked out well for his homeland friends who reached out to chat online. That was something Nemo hadn’t anticipated.
"Besides Veronika, my homeland friends strangely like calling me to tell me street news. I don’t get their mentality. Even though they complain a lot, calling me doesn’t solve anything."
"No personal interest means you can be their sounding board. Sometimes men just want to talk. At least you can chat in your native language. They probably used to worry you'd surpass them, but now they don't concern themselves with that, and they quite like you. Build a good relationship, and you might end up babysitting their kids when they suddenly need help." Nemo analyzed calmly.
"No way! That last part’s a no-go!" Tolya quickly refused the suggestion.
Nemo chose not to tell Tolya his true thoughts. The babysitter warning was no joke. If a child had the chance to rise through the ranks, most parents would want to push their children to a better position. Even ruthless gangsters were no exception. The image of Tolya pulling a child’s body out of a freezer in the New Orleans Swamp Factory incident not only touched many strangers, but it likely gave Tolya’s homeland friends a completely new perspective as well.
This was Nemo’s one-sided perspective; he had no idea that even he had been pulled into Tolya’s social credit.
The rough, unsophisticated Russian gangsters would mock Tolya’s combat skills as no longer up to par, yet when faced with death or prison, and having to entrust the lives of their family members to someone, even if it’s just a promise to occasionally keep an eye on them or offer help in an emergency, Tolya would definitely be the first name that came to their minds.
Anatoly never touched drugs and even gave up smoking and hard liquor after a surgery accident. He drew the line when it came to protecting minors, which is why he agreed to work with Veronika’s gang. He had saved one of their members from suicide and helped search for missing companions—he was a man of his word. Besides, Tolya was always an educated Russian who would never corrupt their children into foolish Americans.
Tolya’s chef roommate was a kind-hearted yet mild-tempered upright Chinese man who worked at a restaurant that gave out free meal coupons to refugee orphans. After Nemo became famous for saving the world’s richest man, this Chinese chef didn’t abandon his old friends. Now, in a new profession, he was striving to climb the ladder and would never bear to see a child go hungry or cold.
Neither Nemo nor Tolya knew that the two of them had already become almost sacred figures in the Russian gang. It was as if putting an important treasure in their care would guarantee protection. Though the gang members still acted dismissive on the surface, they at least understood the basic principle of not disturbing ordinary people’s lives, which helped maintain peace and avoid conflict.
"What’s the follow-up to the third strange thing?" Nemo lazily propped his feet up on the coffee table.
"Veronika’s men investigated nearby, and it turns out there was a fight in the bookstore. The neighbors didn’t dare report it to the police, but someone saw the Polish old man jump out of the second floor and run off in a car. Seems like he’s not as simple as he looks. Veronika finally managed to get close to the local Kingdom delegate. If the Polish old man gets eliminated by another kingdom’s delegate, Veronika will be out of luck and have to start all over again," Tolya explained.
"Mm-hm," Nemo yawned.
"And then the police received an anonymous tip-off, and it turns out that the second floor and basement of the bookstore were crime scenes. That’s why the police cars showed up to secure the scene and called in forensic experts to check if there was any evidence of murder." Tolya sighed in awe. "I didn’t expect we’d be getting rid of those annoying neighbors overnight. Urah!"
"The Polish old man ran because I scared him off, and the tip-off was made by KS using a payphone," Nemo said, showing Tolya a photo of the deer head he had taken.
"Most of the sharp weapons in that room probably won’t have any traces, but cleaning up this deer head mount wouldn’t be so easy—it had who knows how many people impaled on it. That old Polish man probably just couldn’t resist keeping the most badass trophy."
This eye-catching deer head had been there for years, and for Bookstore Owner, it was probably a monument made from a pile of skulls. After setting up shop in Lone Star City, Bookstore Owner had deliberately hung it on the wall of his study, as if taunting the city's top ruler, Matthew Grimm.
"Wow…" Tolya was at a loss for words. "Why did you provoke the Polish old man? Are you planning to challenge the Kingdom?"
"No, it’s actually the other Kingdom delegate coming to me for help. I originally intended to never drag you into the troubles of being a superhero, but this time I might need your help, Tolya." Nemo turned to face his Russian roommate, who also turned to meet his gaze.
"Okay," Tolya agreed immediately.
"You’re not going to ask what the problem is?"
"I’ve been waiting for you to ask that for a while! I know you hate the kind of idiot teammate who meddles and drags the main character down, so I've been holding back. But I do have some real skills! Look, even Lois can work with Superman—my abilities should at least outclass ten dozen Lois Lanes!" Tolya said defensively.
"I’m not Superman, and you’re not a female reporter, can we get a better metaphor?" Nemo rolled his eyes.
"But your bust size and gender don’t match Wonder Woman. Gal Gadot is amazing—I can’t bring myself to compare you to her." Tolya stated honestly, only to yelp as his Taiwanese roommate kicked him. "If you break me, I won’t be able to help you!"
"One of the Kingdom’s district delegates defected and kidnapped at least a dozen family members of superpowered individuals as hostages. It wasn’t for ransom, but just for their bloodlines. He plans to sell them to the Chinese to use them in experiments to create the 'living gems' that grant immortality." Nemo recounted the incident of the Kingdom delegate’s relatives being collectively kidnapped, avoiding the source of the information. It was better that Tolya didn’t know Hako, Crazy Doctor Asian who was a real murderer.
Stolen story; please report.
Tolya’s expression darkened when he heard this. He knew what "living gems" meant.
"The traitor is Bookstore Owner. The Pole plays dirty, deliberately targeting his opponent’s ordinary friends and family, so I can’t fight alone. Boss Liu and Sunny Jie have their property and business here, and we have no plans to move out anytime soon. The old Polish man is well-acquainted with the neighbors around here. Dealing with such a dangerous person requires caution," Nemo said.
"Damn!" Tolya cursed under his breath.
"This mission will proceed on two fronts simultaneously. I’ve already asked my comrade to rescue the hostage group. We need a driver to help transport the hostages to a safe location, just like you did in the New Orleans Swamp Factory case. The Kingdom people may break their agreement halfway and try to hijack the hostages because of internal strife. My comrade will escort the vehicle, but I need the driver to be mentally prepared and, if necessary, shoot out some tires or legs," Nemo said, patting Tolya on the left leg. "Your leg might work miracles for now."
"What about you?" Tolya asked, inquiring about Nemo’s role in the battle.
"There’s an eight-year-old girl not in the hostage group. She’s being isolated and controlled by Bookstore Owner. Her dad, a few kingdom helpers, and I are planning to take down Bookstore Owner. The plan is that they’ll handle the fighting, and I’ll focus on rescuing the girl." Nemo briefly explained his battle plan.
"Sounds just like you," Tolya said, unsurprised by Nemo’s decision to cooperate with those Kingdom delegates. As a former vigilante—though Nemo had never explicitly admitted it—Tolya believed that Nemo saw them as victims’ families, and, in Nemo’s eyes, there was nothing more justified than letting the victims’ families take revenge and rescue the hostages themselves.
The Russian suddenly thought of another, more concerning question. "Is that Polish old man a psychic?"
"I confirmed it when I fought him. Bookstore Owner has PK telekinesis—the ability to move objects with his mind. That explains how he can make local gangs bow down and cooperate. When your kids are at school, those sharp pencils in the back row might silently rise and fly into the back of their heads, piercing their brainstems—how could those gang leaders not pay the protection fee? "
"The theory is especially convincing coming from you. It’s disgusting how he targets the weak, the elderly, and women and children!" Tolya shuddered.
"Whether the immigration documents are forged or not, the Polish old man is at least in his seventies. A long life has certainly ground away his morals and compassion. Only a smart, experienced predator could survive to such an age. Why choose difficult targets when easier ones are available?"
"I’ve seen plenty of people like that in Russia—couldn’t stay there because of it," Tolya muttered.
"Don’t worry, there are plenty in the U.S. too. The more people, the more trash there is," Nemo said. He had once belonged to a local vigilante group called the Nightmare Squad, which specifically dealt with targets within the U.S. The members couldn’t afford to go abroad often, and even with full operations running, they were always overwhelmed with tasks, at least according to Michael.
"The Polish old man’s been targeted by KS. He’s been wounded, and his energy is drained, so he might move the hostages or bring the transaction date forward. Any changes will leave traces, and that’s our chance. But the biggest challenge isn’t defeating the enemy—it’s preventing harm to the hostages. We also can’t make a move too soon, or the hostages might be scattered or the deal with the Chinese might fall through.
"Once the Pole decides to sell the bloodline relatives of a psychic in the local black market, the deal will be completed very quickly. Many underground organizations want this kind of resource that can control real psychics. After all, he’s already been recognized as a traitor by the Kingdom. He’s long since gone all in. It’s just that the order to eliminate him hasn’t been given yet. The higher-ups in the Kingdom might be waiting to see if these directly affected psychics can solve the problem themselves." Nemo paused for a moment before deciding to share more intelligence with Tolya, hoping he’d be more careful when advising his childhood friend. "In this hostage incident, the Kingdom’s high-ups may promote some new officials to replace the old traitors."
"Got it. But isn’t there a problem with the logic of those Chinese dealing with the Pole? Psychic ability awakens in the individual, so what does bloodline have to do with anything?" Tolya circled his finger near his temple, indicating that the Chinese conspiring with the Bookstore Owner to kidnap the kingdom delegates’ family members had a screw loose.
"Forget about trading confidential information or parts of a psychic’s body for a moment. It’s possible that China has made progress in psychic transfer or breeding experiments, and bloodline is indeed a key factor. The information I received from the Kingdom delegate indicates that the kidnapped family members are not just related by blood—they’re close family members with strong emotional bonds. And the superpower abilities influenced by the meteor shower are always closely connected to the spiritual level."
"So, emotional estrangement or infrequent contact with a relative means they’re ineffective, is that what you mean?" Tolya’s eyes widened.
"At least that’s how the Chinese who made the deal with the Polish old man specified it. We can’t confirm whether it’s true, unless we find similar criminal experiments in the U.S. in the future, but I suspect such illegal experiments do exist."
"Disgusting. I’m in for this operation, but who’s your super-powered comrade?"
Nemo flashed a mysterious smile. "You’ll know when the time comes. You don’t need to cooperate with my comrade, just focus on yourself and the hostages. If the mission fails or something goes wrong, don’t worry about anyone else. You’ll need to retreat on your own and head straight to the Grimm Group for help. That’s the condition for you joining. Can you do that?"
"Of course. I care about my life, and I’m not on your team, so there’s nothing to hold me back," Tolya gave a thumbs-up.
"We won’t call the police this time. The Kingdom people want to deal with the traitors themselves and don’t want their family members’ identities exposed. Police involvement in a psychic battle would only make things messier. Besides, giving a favor to the Kingdom’s future small-time bosses is no harm." Nemo shrugged.
"I’ve got one more question." The Russian roommate’s steel-blue eyes gleamed, almost intimidatingly bright in the room.
"Go ahead!"
"You waited until the last possible moment to ask me to join. What made you decide? The Grimm Group isn’t exactly short on drivers who can shoot," Tolya was more surprised by Nemo’s decision to ask for his help than by the Kingdom’s internal strife or the kidnapping case.
In order to pull his roommate out of the gang's mess, Nemo had even gone as far as forcing Tolya to pretend to be a hopeless, crippled failure. Yet, suddenly, he believed that Tolya could drive a cargo truck and blend in with unknown superheroes during a psychic brawl to rescue multiple hostages. Nemo’s thoughts were truly inscrutable.
"The biggest reason is that you just happened to be home!" Nemo sighed as he looked up at the ceiling.
"Huh?" Tolya muttered, confused.
"If I hadn’t run into you at home, I would have decided to borrow professional help from Matthew when you had something else to do." In the end, Nemo wasn’t completely set on Tolya being the one to help.
"You should at least say something nice to coax me, this mission is dangerous!" Tolya glared.
"The survivors you were tasked with transporting in the swamp factory case were all confirmed to be cases where bloodsucking mosquito larvae had deeply parasitized them, ensuring they couldn't survive. Some unfortunate victims even died halfway, just like the child’s body you carried to the news," Nemo said softly.
"So?" Tolya recalled that he had mentioned this experience to Nemo, and at that time, the curly-haired youth had simply listened quietly.
"Maybe you want to challenge it again? Since I hope you’ll be an ordinary person who blends into society, you should try out the 'anyone can be a hero' American culture. That way, when you talk down about superheroes and me, you can include yourself in the mockery too." Nemo didn’t want this incident to become a haunting memory for Tolya—the murdered childhood friend, the countless unknown victims who couldn’t be saved. That kind of horrible feeling can linger for life.
If Tolya were just an ordinary food delivery guy, his involvement would have ended after reporting the crime. Perhaps, when Tolya became an official American citizen and a boring middle-aged man with a bald head and beer belly, he would even brag about and share the heroic deed from his youth that once made the news.
But Tolya wasn’t truly that ordinary. At twenty, he had tried to use a knife to lure and kill a homophobic murderer who had killed his friend, but the opponent was better armed, and he failed.
He was also a playmate and bodyguard to a Wagner Group leader’s daughter in middle school, led protests against special military operations in Moscow, illegally crossed from Argentina to the U.S.-Mexico border, and was close friends with a dangerous Russian gang. When Tolya directly said he would kill an assassin who shot at Nemo’s heart, he wasn’t being polite. For Tolya, the unsolvable Swamp Factory incident was like a nightmare repeating itself.
As a retired member of the Nightmare Squad, Nemo had to try and prevent that helpless nightmare for Tolya, or at least not let it worsen. Nemo couldn’t stand it himself; the previous Nemo would rather die than let his teammates suffer.
Tolya remained silent for a long time. Nemo was truly annoyingly perceptive.
"After I taught some scum a lesson, I felt more motivated to learn! You should do the same—after venting the anger you’ve been bottling up, focus on studying. Don’t let the Beelzebub files mess with your mind. This kind of trash is everywhere, and it's only going to keep growing." Nemo looked directly at Tolya. The curly-haired youth’s deep brown eyes gave no hint of malice, instead giving off a calm, quiet impression.
It was said that Nemo from the land of eternal summer once told Tolya that the indigenous people on this island liked collecting human heads and eating raw meat (pickled stream fish and wild boar). It was quite brutal. In fact, headhunting or scoring points for decapitations was still relatively common in areas near the low-middle latitudes. A few centuries ago, hearing ghostly sounds in the mountains of Taiwan was normal. One would just throw some paper money and it would be fine. But if they heard the sounds of the indigenous people, they’d better prepare to offer their own head as a toll.
Compared to the people from the north who struggled to survive, the southern islanders might seem naïve and passionate at first glance, but that didn’t mean they weren’t brutal by nature. It’s just... they were a bit more carefree and sweet when they had nothing to do after a full meal.
At that time, some Chinese and Japanese would also turn human flesh into medicine. What was once a taboo became the fashion of the upper class after time passed.
Nemo didn’t think that collaborating with the Kingdom delegate was anything groundbreaking, nor did he believe that those modern-day cannibals were crossing a line. He believed that similar temporary alliances and black market industries had always existed, fighting and thriving in different countries in different forms, until Nemo became a superhero and had the chance to stand on the same stage as them.
"They don’t think they’re wrong," Tolya said darkly.
"Well, I don’t think it’s wrong for superheroes to use them as practice targets. Beating villains and scum doesn’t need to be legal or reasonable for superheroes. The problem is, if you want to be an ordinary person, you have to follow the law. Besides, righteous superheroes won’t completely disregard laws and morals; instead, they voluntarily protect these rules, so that bad guys can’t easily sneak into ordinary people’s homes."
When law enforcement loses its function, the police-to-civilian ratio increases, meaning one police officer has to watch over more people. The helplessness leads to increased corruption and negligence, which is a national problem that even more superheroes can't solve.
Nemo hadn’t killed a bad guy yet. The reason wasn’t that he hadn’t yet found a real murderer to target. Whenever he found criminal evidence, he would conveniently send it to the police and prosecutors. It was similar to doing his job; when the country is paying, you can't not work, right? Can justice be fully upheld? Of course not! But any percentage more is better than nothing. Nemo didn’t want to do it all himself.
"What do I need to prepare?" Tolya asked.
"Make a list of the weapons you need. The vehicle will be parked in a warehouse beforehand for us to inspect. As soon as everything checks out, I’ll notify you to test drive it, and then we’ll hand over the weapons. If you think nothing needs adjusting, you can wait in a nearby motel. When the operation starts, cover your face and don’t expose your identity. Considering the safety of the hostages, once the location and transaction time are confirmed, we’ll act immediately."
"How long will I need to stand by?" Tolya asked seriously.
"The Grimm Group’s intel helpers have gotten pretty close, so there’s a high chance for tomorrow, though it could drag into the day after. There are still variables, depending on how Bookstore Owner reacts. Whether or not they bring out any hidden hostages at the official transaction will determine things. The earliest you might be called to test drive is around 4 AM. I’ll give you two disposable phones, keep the lines open 24/7. One is for contacting me, and the other is for the superhero you’ll be working with. Once the operation begins, they’ll pick up your call, but they might not respond. If you have any comments or run into trouble and need support, just say it directly." Nemo tossed the disposable phones in a plastic bag to Tolya.
"Really cautious. Did you come up with the operation plan?"
"Of course. If it didn’t go according to my needs, how could I trust working with a bunch of strangers? If they suddenly don't follow orders, I'll deal with it my way, and the Kingdom folks will be the ones looking bad."
"What’s your way?" Tolya asked, but he knew very well that a smooth plan was best.
Internal strife would increase the risk of hostage casualties. Even losing one hostage would make Nemo furious, and his backup methods definitely wouldn’t be kind.
"You don’t need to know that. I’m just preparing for the worst. The current plan is bad enough already, and we can’t afford to waste any more time. Let’s hope there won’t be any more issues." As expected, Nemo never revealed confidential information in advance.