He could feel fresh air coming from the back of the hallway, slowly reaching him through an open door.
I can jump through there and reach the motel within twenty minutes if I rush, thought Ace in a panic. He motioned to Norman to open the door, but his legs were already tensed, ready to jump out of the building at any moment.
A jittery hand reached for the door handle and pulled it open, instantly dispersing the heavy tension hanging in the air. A young woman, slightly taller than the new Norman, stood there, tilting her head while checking her phone.
Her eyes shifted from the screen to Ace, and eventually, her expression lightened as she nodded, sending shockwaves through her snow-white hair.
"I'm Mira. We don't have much time. I need to know how you acquired your strength. Name your price."
Ace and Norman exchanged confused glances, but before they could make sense of the situation, Ace's eyes turned cold as he sensed another set of footsteps quietly approaching.
An old man with gray hair, dressed in a stylish black suit, came next to Mira and leaned into her ear. Ace and Norman heard him whisper something, and they noticed Mira's gaze quivering.
She frantically looked towards Ace, "General Alexander has put together a task force to capture all the transmigrators in the Golden Dragon City area. If you can share the secrets to your power, please do so right now. We have an hour at most before the military comes to capture us. I cannot predict what will happen to us after that."
Ace and Norman were both shocked to hear her share such news, but Norman in particular was terrified. He knew the weight of the name mentioned and quickly turned to Ace, "General Alexander ranks among the top five generals in the whole party. If someone like him acts, moving the heavens is only a matter of desire, not capability." He then turned towards Mira and asked, "How are you privy to this information? If what you say is true, only high-level party officials in this city could possibly be aware of the general's plans."
"I have a contact in the Golden Dragon City Party Secretary Office. But my contact is fairly low-level, so if they know, anyone worth considering in the city will know soon. That tells me we have an hour at most; otherwise, the operation would lose its surprise element."
Hearing her logic and seeing her steady eyes, Ace felt she wasn't lying. He began panicking, thinking that he only had one hour to act, and turned to Norman, "What can I do in one hour?"
Norman shook his head, his face betraying hopelessness, "There's nothing we can do in one hour. All of us transmigrators will be captured without a doubt. You've heard of the military's power and capabilities. If someone like the general plans an operation, there is no reason to expect they will fail."
"Damn! Do I really have to give it all up to them?" Ace then turned to Mira, thinking that someone like her could be of use to him. The old man by her side seemed to be her subject, and someone who could have an eternal personal assistant could probably arrange for his treasure to be safekept. But could he trust her not to dip her fingers in his meal?
His face turned cold, and the thought of losing his path to power made him think of ruthless contingencies in case she stepped out of line. His lips parted, but his words were now doused in an icy poison that seemed to stretch straight for Mira's heart.
"You said you want the kind of power that I have. Very well, but it comes at a cost. Are you sure you want to know?"
Once again, looking into Ace's eyes, Mira felt herself in front of a monster that could rip her to shreds on a whim. Feeling the control he exerted over her with nothing but a gaze, she gulped but knew that no matter what the consequences, she was bound to say yes. The image of two powerful beasts tearing into each other resurfaced in her mind, and she knew one thing was certain: she needed that kind of power; she craved that kind of power, so without a single thought she nodded.
Ace suddenly disappeared from her view, and she felt her throat constrict as if her spine was about to snap at any moment.
Boom!
Fractions of a second later, a loud sound pounded in her ears, making the whole building shake. Mira forced her eyes open despite the immense pain in her neck, and what she saw made her pupils constrict from shock.
A cloud of dust hung in the air, coming from a small hole where Ace used to stand. She heard another grunt beside her, and fear gripped her heart when she saw that both she and Albert were now hanging in the air, held high up by two muscular hands.
Ace had released all the tension accumulated in his legs, pulverizing the concrete floor and instantly grasping the girl and her butler in his hands.
He leaned towards her, gazing deep into her eyes, seeking to know for certain if his next words would reach her. He was not going to trust her blindly. He wanted to see something in her eyes that would make him trust her.
"If you cross me, if you do anything even indirectly that leads to me, suffering a loss, I will kill you. But before that, I will show you how. I will start by tearing this old man's limbs while he is still alive, and then when I'm done with his arms and legs—"
Before he could finish, he saw the snow-white hair shake violently as she nodded her head. He could see her eyes tremble with fear as she looked into his soul. Curiously, Ace felt a connection to her, as if he were looking at a long-lost sister he never knew he had.
It wasn't sympathy or anything of the sort, but more like he knew what she felt even without her having to speak and sensed a hunger similar to his. He felt the urge to know if it stemmed from the same well.
He clicked his tongue and dropped both of them. He suddenly didn't wish to show this side of him any longer. He went to Norman, who was sprawled on the floor, clutching his head with both hands.
Feeling his body yanked off the ground, Norman opened his eyes and was delighted to see Ace had grabbed him. "Did the military attack already?"
Ace then turned his attention back to the girl, "Tell me who you are and how you can help me move one metric ton of meat to a safe location." He then shoved his hand beneath his hoodie and pulled out a plastic bag with long strips of raw meat inside it.
He gave one strip to Mira and one to Norman, whose eyes sparkled as if he'd seen a divine panacea. Norman gazed silently at the pulverized concrete on the floor and immediately began wolfing down the meat.
Mira looked confused and slightly disgusted seeing someone eat raw flesh, but as her nose caught a whiff of the aroma wafting from the meat, her expression changed. She could feel all the pores on her body open up, and suddenly the meat looked like the most delicious gourmet meal she'd ever tasted.
She gulped audibly, and seeing Ace also begin to chow down on the remaining meat inside the bag, she took a small bite from her piece.
"Wait, Miranell, don't—" Albert started, but Mira had already taken her first bite.
As soon as the juices touched her tongue, she felt her mind go into a frenzy, and she began swallowing entire chunks without even bothering to chew. Her sore throat seemed distant, and all that mattered to her was devouring the flesh and getting her hands on more. She could feel every muscle begin to swell within seconds of the first bite entering her stomach, and she felt like she'd finally scratched an itch that had plagued her unknowingly ever since she'd arrived from that strange world.
Ace also relished the taste again. His stomach had still not fully digested his previous meal, despite being over an entire day since last he ate, but he felt that he needed to have as much supply inside of him, since once the military captured him, who knew when he'd get the opportunity to eat again.
There were ten pounds of meat in total in the plastic bag, and he'd given one to Norman and another to this new acquaintance. The lion's share, of course, he left for himself. Before the two of them finished their respective pieces, he'd already wolfed down the majority of what was left in the bag.