Reborn: Apocalypse - Volume 2

The doctor was standing in a full white lab coat, wearing a simple set of tan pants and a white s.h.i.+rt underneath. He was carrying a large stack of papers in his hands, balancing them as he walked across the room.

Micheal smiled and waved at the doctor as he took the rest of the room in.

The skysc.r.a.per he was in was a skysc.r.a.per in one of the outer regions of the G.o.dfather Organization"s territory. It was a small-scale supply depot that Micheal had been surprised to learn was one of the secret bases of the Hidden Truths Department.

There wasn"t anything of value left here, but it was used as a forward operating base for when members of the Department went on expeditions.

Micheal"s ability to move around freely had jumped enormously after he became s.h.i.+n"s "subordinate." It didn"t particularly bother him, he wasn"t one to care about formalities, though he did find it mildly amusing.

s.h.i.+n and Micheal had worked as partners for more than a decade. Micheal had often a.s.sumed the role of leader, but as more of a first-among-equals type of deal. He was still getting used to being the full-blown leader of his small team, and now he"d already been demoted.
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He couldn"t help but smile at the thought.

He shook his head, however, as he focused back on the present.

The room he"d entered was on the 48th floor of this skysc.r.a.per. He"d pa.s.sed through a single checkpoint of guards that had been set up at the entry to the floor, barring un-allowed persons, and a checkpoint back up on the rooftop.

The room itself was a large-sized lounge that had a variety of computers set up on two long, wooden tables. As he looked around, he could spot various graphs, a few images of a black Nest Core, and long lines of text. He made little sense of all of it.

"Doctor." Micheal nodded at Isaiah as he replied to the man"s greeting. Isaiah nodded back and then walked over to a counter where he began to stack several papers together.

Isaiah wasn"t the only person in the room. His two a.s.sistants, Doctor Rosphen and Doctor Natasha, were sitting down at a couple of computers, going over data. They didn"t even look up when he entered.

Apart from them, there was one last figure in the room, but one Michael didn"t spot at first.

"You"re looking extra energetic today lad." Micheal started as he heard a familiar voice sound off just half a dozen meters from him.

His eye darted to the left and, upon seeing the speaker, his mouth twitched.

Sitting upside down on the ceiling of the room, in a snug looking bean-bag, of all things, was the prestigious and powerful leader of the G.o.dfather Organization, Head Cameron.

"G.o.dfather." Micheal nodded at the S Ranker, smiling internally as he continued,

"I warmed up early today."

Head Cameron merely shrugged, his eyes twinkling.

The G.o.dfather"s senses were incredibly keen. He"d somehow noticed the changes in Micheal"s physique despite the fact that Micheal had done nothing to indicate that he was any stronger today than he was yesterday.

As Micheal finished replying, he fully took in Head Cameron"s outfit.

Instead of a professional-looking suit, the G.o.dfather was wearing…

A loose, open red Hawaiian s.h.i.+rt, a set of loose khaki pants, a yellow straw hat, orange sungla.s.ses, and a pair of neon pink flip-flops.

Micheal"s mouth fell open slightly as he saw this, completely unable to reconcile his vision of a fierce warrior with this… person. He"d read the records that stated the G.o.dfather had a caring side but…

Head Cameron coughed slightly as he saw this.

"Ah, today isn"t an official mission. I"m on "vacation." Hehe, this is my cover." The G.o.dfather shrugged.

"…" Micheal was unable to come up with a response.

In the background, Doctor Isaiah had been still stacking papers together. At this exact moment, as Head Cameron finished replying, Isaiah turned around and spoke aloud.

"He-head Cameron!" The Head Researcher stuttered slightly as he gathered himself, ducking his head as he looked at Cameron.

"I"ve got the full layout for your and Heron"s mission here! We can go over it again with Heron, if you like!" Isaiah pulled a paper off the top of the ones he"d stacked together and brought it over. His voice was full of excitement when he spoke and as he walked, he danced back and forth, as if he could barely control himself.

"That would be fine." Cameron waved at Isaiah to continue.

The doctor walked over to Micheal, smiling in a friendly manner. He handed Micheal a sheet of paper.

Micheal looked at it, memorizing its contents. A map took up half the page, while a series of numbered steps took up the other half.

The map was of a place Micheal recognized instantly. The Towers.

He forced down a few painful memories as he gazed at the map, and, in particular, the part of the map that was highlighted and circled.

As he looked it over, Doctor Isaiah began to explain the plan.

"We want to keep this mission as low-key as possible, with as few members as possible. From our testing in the past, the more people in the vicinity of the Monster Cla.s.s Nest, the more things tend to get out of hand." Isaiah pointed at the map,

"In the past, we had an expedition of around 80 men patrol the outer area and, almost out of nowhere, nearly 1,000 Morenkai swarmed them. You can imagine what a nightmare that was. The Monster Cla.s.s Morenkai Nest seems to have some type of automatic defensive response to any group within its vicinity, one that seems to be based solely on numbers."

Micheal memorized this tidbit as he heard it. Temporary Nests definitely influenced the Morenkai in the local area, but never anything at such a ma.s.sive scale.

Isaiah continued,

"For this mission, we have two distinct teams. Team A and Team B." The Head Researcher pointed over at Rosphen, who was still looking over some graphs.

"Doctor Rosphen will be accompanying the Team A, alongside a couple outer members of the Hidden Truths Department. We aren"t hiding their ident.i.ties because we don"t trust you, but because that is our standing operating procedure for a new member like yourself." Isaiah shrugged apologetically as he said this.

Micheal nodded, unsurprised. He"d been taken aback the first time he"d met Rosphen by the man"s powerful physique, but now it made a little bit more sense. The Doctor was probably in charge of most of their fieldwork given that he could defend himself far more ably.

He also wasn"t surprised at the secrecy they showed, though he still didn"t understand why they were so obsessed with it. They were the elites of the Big 3, after all. Who, on the First Layer, could truly prove to be a threat to them?

"Alright, that sounds fine. I a.s.sume I"ll be on Team B?" Micheal replied smoothly.

"Yes, yes!" Isaiah replied cheerfully,

"You and Head Cameron will be helming Team B!"

Micheal blinked,

"That"s it?"

"Yes, we thought it best to keep your numbers as low as possible." Isaiah replied seriously

"Eh? Lad, are you doubting my mighty uh, er… what"s the word… ah, might!" Cameron replied from up above, his voice booming with confidence as he rocked forward in his bean-bag like a proud ruler.

"No, of course not." Micheal turned and glanced at the G.o.dfather, keeping his face mostly expressionless.

"A small team would work best. Just the two of us, though…? Well, I suppose he IS an S Ranker." Michael frowned internally. He had heard legends of how absurdly powerful the Big 3 S Rankers were, but never really witnessed that power firsthand.

Each Layer had its own distinct legends, warriors that were geniuses or legends. Due to the Points Wall, these elites truly were some of the strongest humanity had to offer, going Layer by Layer. He couldn"t ignore this fact, despite having climbed all the way to the Seventh Layer in the original timeline.

On the First Layer, Head Cameron was well and truly a monster.

"Good! Then it"s decided. Explain the rest of the mission to him, Isaiah." The G.o.dfather grinned widely as he tapped on his Spatial Ring, Instantly, a large coconut with a straw and a tiny plastic umbrella appeared. Cameron raised the coconut up and sipped on the straw, s.h.i.+fting back into his beanbag.

"Yes, yes!" The doctor nodded his head and continued to explain the plan to Micheal,

"So. We"ve registered that there are between 4 and 6 Monster Cla.s.s Morenkai within the area of the Monster Cla.s.s Morenkai Nest at any given time." Isaiah pointed back to the spot that was circled on the map.

"Your mission is to draw as much attention to yourself as possible. Killing several Morenkai and create some type of loud disturbance should prove enough to get a swarm of Abnormals on you. You can handle something of that level, right? I was told you could." Isaiah looked at Micheal questioningly.

"Yes." Micheal nodded back, tempted to glance back up at Head Cameron. He truly could handle a bunch of Abnormals, especially in his boosted state, but also in his regular state. His breakthrough to the Earth Tier of Ki Cultivation had raised his Strength to a bar where he was confident he could dispatch most Abnormals with ease, even in a group fight.

Still, he hadn"t expected the G.o.dfather Organization to be aware of that fact.

In actuality, the G.o.dfather Organization wasn"t aware of that either.

In fact, the reason why they believed Micheal was so powerful mostly happened to do with one rather boisterous teleporter. s.h.i.+n had raved to Head Cameron about how powerful and amazing Micheal was, s.h.i.+n"s faith in his best friend absolute after he learned Micheal"s visions were true.

There were also a few reports exaggerating Micheal"s previous power, giving him a pretty stellar reputation.

"Excellent. After you take out the Abnormals, and continue to cause a racket, we"re hoping that at least two Monster Cla.s.s Morenkai will be sent out to handle you. When they do come, you are to flee as best you can and head to this building here." Isaiah dragged his finger across his map to a skysc.r.a.per that was several blocks down from the Monster Cla.s.s Morenkai nest.

"It"s important that you bring them here, just outside of The Towers. We believe this is outside of the Monster Cla.s.s Morenkai Nest"s immediate effective range. With the increased scrutiny on your team, Team A should hopefully be able to make it deep into the territory of the Nest undetected, and even if they are detected, the Morenkai at your location won"t return."

"Why don"t you just sneak in without me causing a racket? Is there a reason you can"t?" Micheal asked, curious.

Isaiah sighed,

"Believe me, we"ve tried that before, several times in the past. When there are so many Monster Cla.s.s Morenkai in the area, it"s simply impossible to get close. As for fighting within the territory of the Nest itself…" He shook his head,

"Even for an S Ranker, it would be incredibly dangerous. You would get swarmed by Abnormals and Monster Cla.s.s Morenkai in close quarters with no easy way to escape."

Micheal nodded when he heard that. That was what he"d guessed, but it was good to hear it confirmed.

The only person that might be able to face up against a group of Monster Cla.s.s Morenkai in close quarters combat, in the entire First Layer right now, was Director Prime. The other S Rankers could likely defend themselves and escape, but it would be very dangerous. A single, minor mistake could mean death.

"Hmm… Number 1 could also do it, in the future anyway." Micheal mused. Number 1 of the Nightrunners wasn"t currently an S Ranker, but he was bound to become one in the future and was probably close to that level right now.

"Not if I have a say in that, though." Micheal"s thoughts turned a little grimmer. Number 1 was the man behind the plot to sacrifice countless innocent lives to grow his own private army.

That was no way Micheal would leave a man like that alive before he left the First Layer. The harm Number 1 could cause humanity if Micheal didn"t take care of him now… well, it was a risk Micheal was not willing to take.

"So, I need to draw the attention of as many Monster Cla.s.s Morenkai as possible, and then flee over here. Your Team A will then sneak in while I have their attention. Then what?" Micheal returned his focus back to Doctor Isaiah.

"That is all you two need to do. Team A can handle itself and will retreat on their own. If they need a.s.sistance, they will call for it. Your part of the plan is just that simple."

Isaiah went on to outline a few possible strategies Micheal might take. They knew he could fly around using his Life Orbs, and pointed to a few routes he could try when fleeing from the Monster Cla.s.s Morenkai.

After they finished discussing strategy, Isaiah also pulled out a kit of "Ivory Skin Leather Armor," gear that cost a total of 78,000 Points for the full suit. It was magical leather armor that was alabaster white and covered in long, grey lines. The armor was particularly effective against nullifying and protecting from blunt force attacks, the mainstay of most Morenkai.

He was also given several sets of Mid-Tier Healing Pills and a few other miscellaneous Artifacts. The G.o.dfather Organization was truly sparing no expense at helping him defend himself.

Micheal gladly accepted everything they offered, storing what he didn"t need yet in his Spatial Ring. The Ivory Skin Leather Armor was a magical set of gear that bonded to him once he activated it by sending in some of his Ki. It vanished from sight once he did so, magically stored within his Soul.

Gear that could be stored in one"s Soul was very rare to see on the First Layer. Weapons that could be stored within one"s Soul were almost impossible to find on the First Layer, due to even the cheapest weapon of that nature costing more than 200,000 Points.

When he wanted to wear the armor, all he had to do was will for it to exist and it would appear and cover him. It was truly a convenient set of gear.

After all of that was said and done, Micheal talked with Isaiah and the team for a few minutes, watching as Rosphen left the room. They waited for a brief period until Isaiah received word that Team A was ready to go a little while after Doctor Rosphen left.

Then Micheal and Head Cameron left the room and headed off to the rooftop, intent on starting the plan as soon as possible.

Head Cameron"s ridiculous getup was ignored as both of them left the skysc.r.a.per, waving past the guards as they walked away. None of the guards seemed to find it odd, something that Micheal found hard to believe but was forced to accept anyway.

Then, the duo quickly left and began to travel through the Main Cl.u.s.ter towards the skysc.r.a.per Head Cameron would be lying in wait at.

Their travel period was a brief one, largely thanks to how close they were to the border of the G.o.dfather Organization"s territory. Micheal flew through the air using his Life Orbs, while Head Cameron traveling by launching himself through the air using his gravity manipulation and powerful body.

While they travelled, Head Cameron was quiet, as if brooding over things and making plans. Micheal let the man have his time to think, focusing on manipulating the Earth Tier Ki in his body.

He hadn"t had a lot of live practice using this energy yet and was rapidly preparing for live combat with it. His vast decade of experience using Ki meant he wasn"t particularly nervous, but there was no reason not to take precautions.

In what felt like no time at all, they reached the rendezvous point without encountering anything noteworthy on the way.

A single Morenkai was lurking on the rooftop when the duo landed on it. Micheal killed it with a casual swing of his wrist, piercing its head with a throwing knife that he imbued with Intermediate Tier Sword Energy.

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—- Points Obtained —-

Points: 19

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This particular skysc.r.a.per didn"t have anyone else on it this early in the morning. Every day, tens of thousands of people would travel into The Towers with the intent of reaching one of the many scattered Subways that could be found therein, gateways that one could leave through to reach the Second Layer.

However, most of those people would move in groups around noontime. Very few would travel early in the morning. On their way here, Michael and Cameron had seen a few groups moving about towards The Towers or going about hunting Morenkai, but didn"t see any nearby as of right now.

As he ran up and retrieved his knife, Head Cameron"s voice broke the silence that had formed between the two while they travel.

"Alright lad. You get the b.u.g.g.e.rs over here and I"ll make "em kneel. Sound good?"

Micheal wiped his dagger off as he turned around and smiled over at Cameron.

"Sounds good to me. You better be ready when I pull them over here. They will be coming in hot." They likely would. He certainly couldn"t outrun the Monster Cla.s.s Morenkai, that was a fact he had personally become aware of.

Head Cameron merely laughed out loud. The G.o.dfather tapped on his Spatial Ring as he laughed, bringing out exactly what Micheal had expected him to bring out.

A chair.

This particular chair, however, was extremely over the top. It was more of a throne than anything else, a large metal behemoth complete with a 4-meter wide platform. It had a lush, red cus.h.i.+on for where he would sit, but the rest of it was made of what appeared to be stainless steel, emblazoned with jewels.

Micheal shook his head as he turned away and walked over to the edge of the skysc.r.a.per. He gazed down at the crowds of shambling regular Morenkai. There were an unusually large number of Morenkai down on the streets below, far more than he would see when he was in a side Cl.u.s.ter, or the outer layers of the Main Cl.u.s.ter.

He then raised his head and looked up.

Standing before him were huge, enormous skysc.r.a.pers that shot up into the sky. Ma.s.sive buildings that towered over their current skysc.r.a.per by dozens of floors.

If the skysc.r.a.per they were on was 60 floors tall, the huge collection of Towers before him were at least 100 floors tall each, some even larger.

"Get back here in one piece lad. If you truly need help, call for it and I"ll come." Right before Michael was about to jump off the building, Head Cameron"s voice sounded off behind Micheal"s back.

Michael glanced backwards and nodded staunchly. He had been given a Long-Distance Alert Insignia, the same Insignia s.h.i.+n had used to call for help when s.h.i.+n and Sophia had been ambushed a few days ago.

After he nodded, Micheal turned back to face The Towers and then, with no hesitation, threw himself off the building.

His heart pounded as the wind rushed past him. Micheal fell all the way to around the 30th floor before he forcefully pulled up and began to fly alongside his skysc.r.a.per.

He almost immediately jumped over to the neighboring Tower, flying alongside it casually. Just like any other skysc.r.a.per in the First Layer, Micheal soared beside its edge, keeping his body small and flying close to it to avoid as much attention as possible.

In general, The Towers weren"t actually that dangerous as long as you were careful. Most of the people that traveled to find a Subway succeeded safely. It was only if you caused a huge commotion that things became dangerous.

Micheal navigated his way from Tower to Tower, flying through the area with expert control.

Down in the streets below, the concentration of Morenkai transformed to become rather random, something unique to this zone.

Some streets had large numbers of Morenkai moving, while others were practically deserted. Groups of Morenkai moved about in seemingly random patterns, leaving large gaps where nothing at all guarded the area.

Micheal ignored all of this as he flew through to the center of the Main Cl.u.s.ter.

Finally, he reached his destination after several minutes of tense flight.

The Tower he was supposed to climb was stark black, with a few streaks of white creeping up and down it.

Micheal crept up the side of the huge building, scaling it silently. A sheen of sweat covered his forehead, the intense focus and concentration he was displaying keeping him on edge. Throughout his entire journey, he had yet to be spotted thanks to his caution. He"d seen dozens of Abnormals, but none of them had spotted him, nor had he run into any Morenkai that were scaling the sides of the buildings.

When he reached the rooftop, Micheal slid over the edge, making almost no noise as he shot along it.

This particular rooftop was completely empty. It was the building he had been marked down to use, the Tower that neighbored the building containing the Monster Cla.s.s Morenkai Nest. It wasn"t located at the exact center of The Towers, but was close enough to the center to practically show no difference.

Micheal flew to the center of the rooftop before he hopped off and stored his Life Orbs. He took several deep breaths, forcing his pounding heart to calm as he gathered himself.

He stretched his arms and legs, and then withdrew a water bottle and took a long swig from it. He mentally prepared himself as he tapped on his sheathed Ashari Blade, making sure it was locked in and ready.

His eyes gleamed as he looked back and forth across his rooftop and the ones that neighbored him. He didn"t see any Morenkai nearby, but was well aware that they would be infesting the skysc.r.a.pers in this area in extremely heavy numbers thanks to the nearby Monster Cla.s.s Nest.

He then tapped on his Spatial Ring and brought out a large object and set it down on the roof. He fiddled with it for a few seconds before he stepped backwards.

Not a moment later, an extremely loud scratching noise shot into the air. Micheal winced and covered his ears when he heard this, glaring at the record player he had set down as if it had betrayed him.

A moment after that, however, he smiled as a glaringly loud and extremely noticeable song began to echo into the air, a haunting melody from a song that Micheal had found just before the apocalypse began, so long, or short, ago.

He began to hum along to it.

♫ There is a place that I used to go… ♫

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