As if he knew that this would be Arthur's first question, Shadow soon began to speak: "A group is simply a union of mercenaries who know each other and agree to work together for mutual benefit." As soon as he finished speaking, Shadow looked into Arthur's eyes and...
He gave a long laugh: "Hahahaha! Very funny! Did you like the joke? Did you !?"
As Arthur watched the person in front of him laugh like crazy, he felt a small vein grow on his forehead.
'Is this guy an idiot or something? If it weren't for his clear displays of strength, I would be gone by now. '
The laughter only lasted a few seconds before Shadow continued, while wiping away a tear that was about to run from his eyes: "That would be a totally fanciful concept for a world full of carnage and disloyalty. A Mercenary Group is only here so that we cannot be killed overnight. " Shadow's tone grew darker and darker. "From the moment you stepped foot in this world, every action you did, every finger you raised and even every fart you released is counted and watched. We are under constant surveillance from the eye, so just get out of control at least one little and- "Shadow finished speaking, while running his thumb down his throat, indicating death.
While listening to all of this, Arthur felt a little intimidated. Security issues, not only from him, but from Thomas as well, began to arise. Instead of keeping it to himself, Arthur decided to ask.
"So... this mask is completely useless?"
"It depends. Since you classified yourself as a C-level mercenary, your mask really doesn't do any shit. But, as in the case of our friend Magikeen, who directly qualified as a B-level, her personal identity is not investigated. They do that to prevent the most powerful mercenaries from getting angry. " Shadow's tone was practical and machanic, as if he were already used to speaking those words.
"Great. I was tired of using it while no one else was." Arthur spoke as he took off his wolf mask.
Just as he took one burden off, another was placed on his mind: 'Then they know who I am and who is related to me. It looks like the game is going to be more difficult now! '
The moment he took off his mask, from the glass wall, a slight gasp was heard. As everyone here was powerful, with the exception of Janice, this did not go unnoticed.
Magikeen, the one who made the noise, soon turned her face to the window and stood, while Shadow and Arthur stared at her back.
'Does she know him? Interesting!' Shadow's insightful look and thought didn't let that detail slip away, but he still kept to himself.
Arthur was different, asking directly: "Are you okay there? It looks like you choked hard." His tone of voice was amusing, also imagining that this person had already seen him.
But, he was not too concerned. It was not impossible to know who he was. He lived in the city since he was a child, and even though it is a relatively large city, it was still easy to recognize the faces of the people you have seen, if you had a good enough memory. So the question would be: Who was Magikeen?
"I am fine!" Only a thin and slightly hoarse voice came out of the figure with the cloak.
Realizing that it would be a waste of time to investigate the matter, Arthur just smiled and turned to Shadow, asking him, "What is this Eye?"
"It is a 24/7 monitoring system, completely autonomous and impossible to be hacked. You must have seen, during the test, that the Researcher Class exists. Numerous mercenaries of that class have programmed this system, and anyone who has an identification chip will be watched at all times. If you do something wrong, the Squad will come after you. "
"And, before you ask, the Squad is a separate UN unit to clean up the rude little babies." Shadow completed his speech and waited for Arthur's reaction.
"Well ... there is nothing I can do now. The world is not mine yet." With a slight smile on his face, Arthur also spoke.
'Yet? Ambitious! I liked him! ' Shadow was also beginning to feel a certain interest in Arthur. The one that comes up when you meet someone with the same ideas as you.
Interrupting Shadow's thought process, Arthur asked again, "So, why don't you wear a mask?"
With a slight shrug, Shadow said, "I have nothing to lose ..."
The moment that phrase sounded across the room, only Arthur understood what he meant. After all, before Thomas came along, he had the sa me line of thought.
"Well then ... So we are known now. I know you don't want to reveal your real name, so it may be a lack of respect around here. But we are sure to meet out of here, so I'm not going to tell you mine either." Arthur stopped his speech for a moment before continuing: "But ... knowing you is not the same as knowing everyone else down there. I've never seen them in my life, not on TV or in newspapers. So, you can explain me how the hell are they so strong ?? I would say I really suffered to get here, so I want to know if they went through the same thing. " The light in his emerald green eyes grew brighter.
"Pretty simple. You must have heard about a super vaccine out there, right?" Shadow waited for Arthur's confirmation before continuing.
"So ... the advance in food "engineering" was thanks to that. It is a vaccine that can modify the human body and gene, raising its potential limits, even of the brain. Of course, this also goes according to the effort of the person who receives it. It's not because you have the potential to lift a building that you can do it right now."
"This vaccine was hidden by the countries and countless hidden conflicts happened because of it, even losing its origin in the middle of the road."
"Someone who has had the vaccine long enough has been able to extract some information and reproduce a weaker version, which only worked for plants and food in general. Thanks to that, humanity has grown exponentially in population and you know how it turned out."
"Seeing that a Third World War could occur, the UN decided to collect the remaining vaccines and reproduce its recipe. After a few years of research, they succeeded. The original liquid, which no one knows of the effect, was diluted in several portions and given to selected people among armies and mercenaries, who until now were already recognized as a force that should be used. "
"Level B mercenaries are injected with this type of vaccine. The human body itself has different limits, so only a few people can reach Level B without vaccines, and that is why they are chosen."
"Nobody knows for sure how they do it to keep an eye on us, but the most likely is that it is a carbon nanochip, inside the vaccine liquid."
"There is your answer. The world is a place with no real law, controlled only by force. That fact has never changed, nor will it change. What changes is only the type of force." Shadow then got up and went to a small refrigerator next to him, picking up a can of soda. He took one for Arthur and threw it at him.
"It is a very interesting story. The world can really change and no one will even know anything." Still processing everything he heard, Arthur sat with the can in his hand.
It took some time before he smiled and said, ironically: "It looks like it will bother me a lot in the future."
Shadow also smiled in recognition, lifting his can as if offering a toast.
"So? Are you going to join my group?"
"Well, it's not like I can refuse now ..." Taking a dramatic break, Arthur looked Shadow in the eye and continued, "But first I want to see where I would be in this group!" As well as the sparkle in his eyes, Arthur's fighting spirit began to increase.