"What the hell happened in here?"
A perplexed silence hung in the air as Agent Holu surveyed the chaotic aftermath of the confrontation. Amidst the smoke and debris, his team worked efficiently to secure the subdued thugs while maintaining a vigilant stance.
"Nina, get a team to sweep the area for survivors and gather any evidence we can find," he commanded, his voice tinged with urgency. "We need to piece together exactly what happened here."
Agent Nina nodded, her expression mirroring his concern as she relayed the orders to the team. With practiced efficiency, they dispersed into the smoky haze, their flashlights cutting through the darkness as they searched for clues amidst the chaos.
Meanwhile, Agent Holu turned his attention to the subdued thugs, his mind racing with questions. He noticed that Cobra, the leader of this gang and their mission objective was in a very sorry state.
But the peculiar thing was that him, along with the subdued thugs, kept staring at the bullet-ridden car, their gazes a mixture of anger and fear.
"Lisa, any luck recovering footage from the security cameras?" he asked through the earpiece.
Lisa, still in the car nodded, her fingers flying across the keyboard. "I'm working on it. The system took a hit, but I might be able to salvage something."
Making a couple of handsigns to the rest of the agents, he raised his gun and slowly moved towards the car. As he approached, he couldn't help but feel a sense of unease gnawing at the edges of his mind.
Once he reached the car and saw what was behind it, he couldn't help but be shocked. Some distance away, a delicate looking young man that seemed no older than twenty sat on the concrete floor, watching him approach.
The young man before him, although bleeding from different parts of his body had a slight smirk on his face that deeply unsettled him. Who was he, and what was his connection to Cobra?
"Don't move!" he shouted after taking a split second to recover his senses from the initial shock. He raised his gun and pointed it at Rion.
Rion calmly dropped the guns in his hands and raised his hands in the air. One of the agents came behind him and slapped a collar on his neck.
As the cold steel of the collar clicked around his neck, he felt a sudden numbness spread through his veins. Guessing something, he flexed his hands, trying to activate his ability but there was nothing.
Shoot... These guys are the real deal....
This was the Power Dampening Collar, designed to shut down all sorts of cultivator abilities once worn. Given that the usage of this technology was limited to high ranking government agencies, he understood that the game had changed, and he had to adapt—fast.
After making sure the collar was on, the agent led him away, presumably to administer some first aid treatment.
"YOU BASTARD!", he heard Cobra shout as he was being led away, "YOU'RE DEAD, YOU HEAR ME? DEAD!"
In response to the threats, all he did was stick out his tongue in a playful manner, further infuriating Cobra.
"Gather whatever you can and notify the police to follow up," ordered Holu as Nina and the others returned, after which they escorted Cobra and the rest of the thugs to a black SUV parked outside.
---------
The engine's low hum was the only sound that filled the air as the convoy snaked its way through the city's veins. Rion sat in the back of the black SUV, his hands cuffed. His wounds had been cleaned and bandaged and he had been given a peculiar solution to drink, which slightly eased the pain. Around him were some knocked-out thugs and four quiet agents whose eyes occasionally flickered to him.
"Hey guys, lovely weather we're having today," he said, his voice slicing through the heavy tension, making the agents flinch.
"So," he went on, "any chance you could clue me in on where we're headed?"
After a few moments of silence and no response, he clicked his tongue. "Tch... not much for conversation, are you?"
Although he couldn't make out anything beyond the SUV's darkened windows, based on the movements of the vehicle, he figured that they had moved far away from the region of the garage.
A while later, he felt the vehicle stop and the agents put a black bag over his head to block his vision before leading him someplace.
When the bag over his head was finally removed, he found himself in a bright room. It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the light.
He was seated on a hard metal chair, and he felt the chill of the room seeping through his clothes. The room was small and plain, with white walls, a one way mirror to his side, and a single table in the center. Opposite him sat two people: a man and a woman, both wearing serious expressions.
The man who had short hair and a stern face sat across from Rion, his expression inscrutable as he observed him. Beside him, the woman with long hair tied back in a tight bun flicked through a file, her eyes occasionally darting up to study his reactions. They were both dressed in dark suits, giving them an air of authority.
"Allow me to introduce myself," the woman on the left began," My name is Kate and I am an intelligence officer from the Internal Affairs Division of Pinecrest," she said, her voice firm but not unkind.
"And beside me is Agent Christopher from Homeland Security. Before we start, you must understand that we're dealing with a highly sensitive situation here. Any information you can provide would be greatly beneficial in our investigation."
Rion remained silent, his gaze fixed on the table before him.
"Mr... Nobody, is it?" Agent Christopher began, his voice calm yet authoritative. "Can you tell us your full name and your purpose for being at Cobra's garage today?"
Rion shifted slightly in his chair, his gaze flickering between the agents. "My name is Nobody," he replied evenly. "And I was there for business."
Kate raised an eyebrow, her skepticism evident. "Business? Care to elaborate on that?"
Rion's lips twitched in a half-smirk. "I think you already know what kind of business goes down in a place like Cobra's garage," he retorted cryptically.
Agent Christopher leaned forward, his eyes narrowing slightly. "We're well aware of the illegal activities that take place there. What we're interested in is your involvement. How do you know Cobra, and what were you doing there today?"
Rion's expression remained guarded as he considered his response. "I have certain skills that he finds useful," he replied vaguely. "As for today, I was there to discuss a business arrangement."
Kate leaned in, her tone more pointed. "What kind of business arrangement involves explosions and gunfire, Mr. Nobody?"
Rion shrugged nonchalantly. "Things got a little heated, that's all. Business can be messy sometimes."
Agent Christopher exchanged a glance with Kate before turning his attention back to Rion. "Let's cut to the chase, Mr. Nobody — or should I say Mr. Rion Hale? You're clearly more than just an ordinary arms dealer. The weapons you used against Cobra... they're not your average firearms. Our burning question is: Where did you acquire them from?"
Rion's gaze hardened at the mention of his real name but he wasn't really surprised. Once they caught him, he knew it was only a matter of time till his real identity was discovered.
After thinking for a few moments, he spoke. "I made them myself," he replied, keeping his tone neutral.
Kate raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Self-made?" she echoed. "That's quite impressive for a college student who is below average in his classes."
Rion shrugged nonchalantly, refusing to meet her gaze. "I pick up things quickly," he said evasively.
He had intentionally refrained from utilizing his knowledge, performing just as the old Rion did in his college classes. This was because he was wary that someone might get suspicious and decide to investigate his sudden brilliance. Kate's remarks confirmed that his cautious approach was the smart move.
Agent Christopher leaned back in his chair, studying Rion intently. "Your talent must be quite impressive if it can enable an ordinary college student to produce weapons of that caliber," he remarked. "But here's the thing, Mr. Rion. We're not buying your cock and bull story," he said firmly his voice gradually becoming colder.
"We know there's more to the story. How did you really learn to make those weapons? And where did someone like you with no obvious military background gain the skills to be able to take out more than 20 armed men?"
"Like I said, I'm a really fast learner." Rion answered, his expression unreadable.
Kate leaned forward, her tone firm. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Mr. Rion. You can cooperate with us, tell us everything you know, and maybe we can help you. Or you can continue to stonewall us, and we'll have no choice but to take more... drastic measures."
Rion leaned back in his chair, a small smirk playing at the corners of his lips. "I'm flattered," he replied, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "But I'm afraid that all the answer I can give you."
The room lapsed into a heavy silence, the tension palpable as the Rion waited for their response. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Christopher spoke, his voice measured and deliberate.
"Very well, Mr. Rion," he sighed, exchanging a resigned look with Kate. "Just remember that you were warned."
With that, he motioned to the agents standing by the door, signaling for them to escort Rion to a holding cell.
"Take him out. Put him in solitary confinement."
As he watched Rion being led away to the holding cell, he couldn't shake the feeling of unease that lingered in the air. There was something about the young man's calm demeanor amidst the chaos that unsettled him deeply. But there was little time to dwell on it as he turned his attention back to the task at hand.
After making sure that Rion was out of the room, he lightly pressed a button under the table that caused the one way mirror to become see-through.
On the other end of the mirror were two agents typing away at their keyboards and one young lady dressed in a light blue tunic.
"So Em, what did you get?" he asked, facing the young lady.
"Sorry boss, I couldn't get anything." she replied,her brow furrowed in concentration. "His control over his mental state is too high and my Mind Reader could only intercept some stray thoughts. In addition, I suspect he is practicing some sort of psychic origin technique."
Hmmmm... Emma's ability couldn't get past his mental defenses... It seems like we have hit a tough wall this time around.
The young lady in the light blue tunic was named Emma and she had awoken the very rare psychic ability to hear what others were thinking. Since her ability was still underdeveloped as she was still at the Mid-stage of the 1st-tier, she could only hear peripheral thoughts of others. Even at that, she only ever had problems hearing the thoughts of mature and well-trained professionals.
However, the records they had indicated that Rion had just turned 17 recently, making all that he had accomplished from taking out a bunch of thugs in his lonesome, or having a mental fortitude that far exceeded those of his age to be quite peculiar.
«Ring.... Ring....»
The sound of his phone ringing cut him out of his reverie. After talking with the person on the other end, he hung up and turned back to Emma.
"Alright, rest up and recover your energy. I've just received word that the main target for today's mission, a top level member of the Cultivator Liberation group has been successfully captured and is currently being escorted to this temporary base, so I'll need you at the top of your game for the interrogation later."