Zachary alighted from the carriage and strolled towards the Dawnwood Inn with the hooded boy on his back. He had no plans regarding the boy, but leaving him behind was not in his nature. Therefore, he was bringing the boy to his meeting with Eldon.

Although Zachary knew Eldon was near the Dawnwood Inn, he had no idea where exactly. They had concocted the plan together, but each had retained a certain amount of autonomy. To know where Eldon had situated his hideout, he could only ask.

Raising his wrist, Zachary activated his Seeker. A blue holographic screen that only he could see popped up. He tapped the contacts icon, and an endless list appeared. He manually scrolled through the innumerable contacts, searching for Eldon. Zachary could not help but curse. The Government provided them with new Seekers but didn't see fit to make the interface more intuitive and accessible. After scrolling for minutes, he finally saw Eldon's profile.

-Where are you? He sent. I left the Colossus. As we thought, Senior Abyss Eye isn't there.

Zachary waited minutes for a reply, and when it finally came, it was short and to the point.

-Real Coffee Shop. West of the Dawnwood Inn.

Real Coffee Shop? Zachary recognized the name. It was a rundown building that had seen better days. Those passing by would often consider heading in to lend the owner some money to fix the place. Most people of a certain standard avoided it. They regarded it as a stain on their social life to be associated with it. However, there was something special about it that ordinary people could never guess.

Zachary remembered when the plan was being finalized. Eldon had volunteered to watch the Dawnwood Inn. At that time, Zachary had noticed a certain eagerness in him but didn't probe into it. Now, he could only wonder if Eldon knew something about it.

It was the same that time too, Zachary thought. The first time they went to the Dawnwood Inn, Eldon paused near the entrance to look in a direction. Now that he thought about it, it was in the direction of the Real Coffee Shop.

-I'll be there soon, Zachary sent back.

As Zachary sent his reply, the boy on his back stirred. Zachary hoped he would wake up. As a Control-based abnormal, his physical prowess was lacking compared to other B-ranks. Carrying the boy over a significant distance would be uncomfortable for him. Unfortunately, the boy stirred but did nothing more. A moment later, he was still again.

Zachary sighed. Thankfully, the Real Coffee Shop was near where the carriage driver had dropped them off. Speaking of which, the New World Government spared no expense on this mission. They freely provided for all the Campers' necessities, whether shelter, nutrition, or transportation. From this, Zachary could tell just how serious they were with the impending mission.

Zachary marched for a while before coming up to the shop. A jingling bell rang as he entered. The deep aroma of polished wood, burnt toast, and dark roasted coffee assaulted his nostrils. A few customers who looked like regulars were hanging out together to his right. They glanced at him as he entered but looked away disinterestedly immediately afterward.

Eldon sat by the window across from the men, staring out. While he seemed to be observing, Zachary could tell that his mind had wandered away.

Again. It was happening again.

It had taken Zachary a lot of effort to break the barrier Eldon had put up and get him to trust again. Eldon might not have known it, but Zachary actively worked to that end, trying his best to make Eldon go from being passive to active.

He has so much potential, but he is his greatest enemy. If he could just let go of doubt, if Eldon could rise, strengthen his will, and fight decisively, reaching a higher rank would not be far away.

But it wouldn't be easy to reach that point. When you were the cannon fodder in any battle, perhaps the shield of distrust was your only survival tactic. If he wanted to emerge from his shell, it would take effort on Eldon's part.

Smiling, Zachary went over to Eldon's table. "See anything?" He asked as he set the hooded lad down on a seat and settled into the other himself.

Eldon jolted, only then realizing Zachary's arrival. He shook his head, more to clear it than to reply Zachary. "Nothing yet. Who's this?"

Zachary gave a nervous chuckle. "Well, you see, I met Aiken at the Colossal Arena. While we were there, we saw someone who looked like Abyss Eye and gave chase."

Eldon understood. "This is the person? Why's he unconscious now?"

"He attacked us," Zachary said. "He threw some throwing blades at us. Given who we thought it was, you can say our reactions were a little bit exaggerated, causing this young man to fall unconscious." He laughed. "You should have seen Aiken's expression. He summoned boulders as big as this building to defend himself."

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Eldon smiled at that. "And what about you?"

"I remained calm, proclaiming my innocence with open hands," Zachary said, demonstrating. He leaned back. "So it's Aiken's fault."

"He ran away?"

"Yeah."

Eldon frowned thoughtfully. "Do you think it's a coincidence that he was there? The city is large, yet we've crossed paths three times now within a day."

"I'd be damned if we don't meet him three more times before the day is up," Zachary replied. "We're on the same hunt, searching for the same person. If we're doing it right, we'll undoubtedly cross paths repeatedly. As for stalking me, I can't imagine he would do that. Aiken is a special kind of person. He would probably go out of his way to avoid me."

The unconscious boy shifted. It was just a little bit, but how could it escape Zachary?

“Hey, it's been an hour. Don't you think you've been unconscious too long?”

There was no response.

“Exactly how hard did he hit his head?” Eldon asked.

Zachary scoffed. “He didn't. He was only a bit shocked.” He tapped the youngster’s head. “If you keep pretending, I’m just going to go ahead and burn off all this hair. Yeah, that’s right. That way, you’ll have an actual reason to use a hood.”

“I’m up!” The hooded young man immediately sat up straight. His jittery hands pulled the hood tightly over his head. “Please don’t burn off all my hair.”

The young man was scared out of his wits. He probably thought Zachary would actually burn his hair. He shivered, looking from side to side as if assessing his odds of successfully escaping.

The boy had been on the run from someone before—whoever he “borrowed” those throwing blades from—so when he suddenly noticed two strong abnormals pursuing him in full force, he was overtaken by fear. It was quite the mental roller coaster, indeed.

“What are you going to do with him?” Eldon asked.

“I don’t know. I couldn’t leave him there like Aiken did. He’s an abnormal, too. Do you think he could help us?”

“I can help! Whatever it is you want, I can help with it. I can help you a lot more than anyone else!”

In an instant, his attitude had taken a hundred-and-eighty-degree turn. His sudden enthusiasm made even Eldon look confused. “Don’t you want to escape?”

The young man laughed easily. His previous nervousness was nowhere to be seen. “You know, you can never trust strong people. You never know when you’ll become a pawn to be pushed around however they like. Well, that’s the case for most strong people.” He smiled and looked pointedly at Zachary. “I believe this senior is different.”

“Why do you think so?”

“It’s simple! Even though he knew I was pretending, he still took responsibility and brought me here. I thought at first he had an ulterior motive,” he shivered, but then something happened that made me change my mind.”

They stared at him.

The young man pointed at Eldon. “You’re here, and you’re with him. Weak ones don’t normally trust strong ones. If you’re with him, there must be something about him that makes you feel safe around him. And while I might be wrong, you don’t seem like a stupid person to me.

“On top of all that,” he said, leaning forward. “If I can’t trust anybody strong, I can at least trust a fellow weakling, can’t I? We know how it feels to be in each other’s position, so we wouldn’t become betrayers, right? It’s as simple as that.”

Eldon looked at Zachary, and Zachary shrugged. What could he say? The lad was still young. For him to have such a thought, claiming weaker abnormals were more trustworthy... Zachary had to wonder how he survived the Camps.

“I’m Logan,” the hooded lad said, bowing slightly. “If you don’t mind... I’d like to join your team.”

“Team?” Zachary raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, isn’t that what this is all about?” Logan was confused. “He’s in your team, right? Take me in, too.”

Eldon drew his lips into a thin line. Zachary facepalmed.

So that’s what this is all about. This sneaky bastard...

“Uh, we don’t yet have a team. We’re still searching for one.”

Logan’s eyes lit up. “From my observation, you're at least a B-rank. If you’re not recruiting into your team but instead searching for another... Could it be... ?” he suddenly burst out laughing. “I’ve hit the jackpot! Hahaha! You are looking for a stronger team to join, aren't you? You’re going to join a team full of strong people, right?”

Logan couldn’t control his excitement. He shows all his emotions on the surface, Zachary noted. And so intensely, too.

“Big brother,” Logan inched closer to Eldon. “Please let me join your team. I mean, your group. We D-ranks have to stick together, don't we? And you, senior,” he moved the other way to Zachary, “you owe me, remember? That encounter mentally scarred me. When I close my eyes, all I see is that terrorizing scene of immense boulders smashing down on me... Surely, you won’t throw me out, right?”

Zachary turned to Eldon. “What do you think, Eldon?”

“Help me, Big Brother Eldon!”

Eldon smacked Logan’s hands away from him. Zachary had to admit that seeing someone with such a strong build calling Eldon “big brother” was odd.

“Where are you from? How long have you been a Camper?” Eldon asked after a bit of thought.

“My name is Logan. As for my Camp, it's called Wildscape. I was only there a few days, so I don’t identify with it. It was probably southeast of here, maybe. I'm not sure.”

“A few days?” Zachary cut in. “What the hell?”

“Yeah, I know it’s weird," Logan replied. "I was a regular citizen until a few months ago when I was arrested for the first time."

"What for?"

"Ah, let’s call it ‘compulsive borrowing,’” he said tentatively, gauging their reactions. When he found none, he sighed with relief. “It was a bit sudden. But I guess that’s just how life is... Everything happens suddenly or not at all.”

Logan trailed off. Zachary waited, but the lad wasn't forthcoming.

“And?” he prodded.

“Ah, sorry. What was I saying again?”

“Compulsive borrowing. Sending you to the Camps over that seems like overkill to me.”

Logan slammed his hand on the table. “Exactly! Ah, sorry, I knocked over your cup.”

“It’s fine. It was cold, anyway.”

“Sorry. Yeah, I was imprisoned for a few days, mostly because I stole—I mean, borrowed something weird. The officials—”

“What did you borrow?”

“Well, it’s... I...” He laughed nervously. “I don’t know what it’s called.... It’s one of those shiny insignias storeowners place around their shop to ward off vandalizers and thieves. I thought it would be harder to take, but it was surprisingly easy. I reached my hand out and grabbed it, and that was it. It was in my hand. No shocks, no pain; nothing.”

This is... Zachary didn’t know how he could describe it. Wards were one of the items produced and sold exclusively by the Spire. No one else could create them. The most common use of these wards was to protect one’s property. In this age of abnormals, this was one of the ways regular people could live in peace.

However, this guy called Logan had stolen the ward itself.

The fucking ward.