993 A Great Escape
In the preparation room, there were several people coming and going, leaving and entering the room. The majority of them seemed to be members of the One Gang, recognizable by their purple and white tracksuits. They would either speak to Harvor directly or talk to one of those in lab coats.
Despite there being only one hour left until his big fight, Harvor was still on the phone, and he had been for a while. His phone constantly rang, and he was making many decisions.
This was a side of Harvor that not many knew—he was hardworking. He had to be, after all, to even conceive of a business like the AFC and make it all work. There was always another mystery that had never been solved to the public, a question people had stopped asking.
To start the AFC in the first place, a large amount of funding was needed, and somehow, Harvor managed to get his hands on it. Although some guessed it was through NIRV, it made no sense as to why they wouldn’t take advantage of Harvor and own more of the AFC if that were the case.
“RR!” Harvor called out after ending his call.
A man in a purple tracksuit, dark-skinned with curly hair, looked over. He had a perfectly cared-for beard that made his jaw look even wider, and a precise cut on his hairline. RR was clearly someone who was proud of his appearance, and he was also one of the 12 Zodiacs.
“What is it?” RR asked.
“Let’s. .h.i.t some pads,” Harvor said.
RR’s mouth dropped open. He wasn’t sure if he had heard the right words or not, but hitting pads was essentially warming up before a fight. This was something that nearly every Altered did. Although their bodies were different compared to regular humans, some still liked to hit to practice their move sets and such.
After all, they could only rely on the strength of their body so much. However, for Harvor, he never warmed up. The only time RR had seen it was when Harvor faced off against the Rank 1 of the AFC for the champions.h.i.+p, or if a newcomer who had risen quickly had appeared.
“You’re not worried, are you?” RR asked as he went and picked up a pair of black pads. As he lifted them, the veins on his arms could be seen running through. No regular pads would be able to take Harvor’s. .h.i.ts.
They were specially made material that would break anyone else’s hands, but for Harvor, it was the only thing he could hit.
“I won’t hit at full strength, so don’t worry about it, but you’re the only one who can keep up with me,” Harvor said.
Harvor hadn’t answered the question, but regardless, RR lifted up the pads, and his forearms started to transform. They bulged up like balloons, growing in size and becoming even bigger than the pads themselves.
Everyone in the room turned for a moment as they saw Harvor and RR in the center; it was a rare opportunity for them to witness a magical display. The next moment, resounding bangs could be heard, and the entire room shook.
The room was specially designed by top scientists at NIRV to be as soundproof and break-proof as possible. It was the same type of room used to contain beasts. Yet, it was unable to contain the force.
Harvor was simply punching the pads one after the other. The sound from the hits was so loud that some of those in the room had to cover their ears.
Eventually, it came to a stop, and there didn’t appear to be a single sweat mark on Harvor’s body.
“Alright, are you going to be honest with me now?” RR asked. “I want to know what’s going on. Why are you warming up when you never warm up, and for a n.o.body at the AFC?”
The mitts that had been used could no longer be contained, and part of RR’s skin could be seen breaking. That was why Harvor stopped.
“Someone who caught my eye told me I should be careful of Jayden, so I decided to take what this person said seriously,” Harvor said.
“That’s rare,” RR replied. “You don’t listen to anyone. This person who said that must be pretty amazing to make you think.”
Harvor had a deep smile on his face, and he looked at his fist at the same time.
“That’s what I’m hoping. I’m hoping he’s very special.”
Looking at the clock, it was almost time for him to go out there. The match just before his should be coming to an end, and then there would be a performance.
Stanley, at that moment, pressed a message that had just been received on his tablet. Seeing the message he hesitated whether to tell Harvor or not. He could tell that Harvor hadn’t exactly been acting his usual self.
“Sorry, sir, this may not be the best time, but I have some information.” Stanley decided to say something. He felt like he was being ridiculous how could he for a second doubt that just a piece of news would throw Harvor into losing the match.
“Just say it. I won’t lose, no matter what it is,” Harvor replied.
“It’s about the man we captured—the one known as Raven. Well, it appears that he has escaped.”
“Escaped? Didn’t we place the Zodiac Peter to look out for him?”
Although Raven had already defeated a member of the One Gang to get their attention, it was Zodiac Peter who had captured him, so that was why Harvor thought it was the best choice, and never thought an escape was even on the books.
“That’s the thing, sir,” Stanley answered as he continued to look at the screen, making sure the details were right. “Zodiac Peter has been found dead.”
*****
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