A few days later.
The taxi pulled up to the armed security checkpoint, its suspension sagging under the weight of its passengers.
The door swung open, and out stumbled Airid, Darius, and Julian, all totally hammered and in messy clothes.
The three albino giants struggled to maintain their balance as they stepped out, the taxi visibly rising as it was relieved of their combined weight.
"This seems to be the place,"
Airid slurred, taking off his sunglasses and rubbing his bloodshot panda eyes.
"Let's go, you f*cks,"
He called out to Darius and Julian, who were barely able to stand straight even then supporting each other.
The security personnel, a group of armed mercenaries, watched in stunned silence as the three men staggered toward the checkpoint.
Their presence was imposing, not just because of their height but also because of their ridiculous physiques.
One of the mercenaries turned to his commander, a grizzled veteran named Captain Xi.
"Sir, you might want to take a look at this."
Captain Xi stepped out of the security booth, his eyes narrowing as he took in the sight before him.
He remembered the briefing from the previous shifts about three albino giants who were expected to arrive.
"Are you with Mr. Von Death?"
He asked, his tone skeptical as he assessed the three men.
"Yeah, If you mean by Von Death the wannabe vamp then yes that's us,"
Airid replied, trying to stand a little straighter but failing miserably.
Captain Xi let out a sigh.
"Great. Just great. Grab a jeep,"
He ordered one of his subordinates.
"We need to get these guys to Mr. Von Death."
The subordinate nodded and hurried off to fetch the jeep.
Captain Xi turned back to the three giants, his nose wrinkling at the overpowering stench of alcohol.
"You guys reek of booze. Just how much did you drink to get into this state?"
Darius laughed, his voice a deep rumble.
"Enough to kill a human hundred times over, probably."
Julian grinned, his eyes glazed.
"And we're still standing. Sort of."
Captain Xi shook his head in disbelief.
"Are all foreigners this big, or are you three just freaks of nature?"
"We're special,"
Airid said with a drunken smirk, patting Captain Xi on the shoulder almost making him collapse from the force.
The jeep arrived, and Captain Xi motioned for the three men to get in.
"Come on, let's get you to Mr. Von Death before you cause any trouble."
With some effort, Airid, Darius, and Julian clambered into the jeep, their massive frames barely fitting making It look like a scene from a circus.
Captain Xi climbed into the driver's seat, muttering curses under his breath because of the overwhelming stench permitting the jeep as he started the engine.
The ride to the mansion was mercifully short.
As they pulled up to the gates, Captain Xi glanced back at his passengers.
"Stay put until I get Mr. Von Death."
He walked to the front gate and rang the bell only to see Dracula In his field pants, short sleeved T-shirt and combat boots running circles around the mansion.
For a second Captain Xi couldn't help but blink a few times to make sure he wasn't seeing things.
A 220 centimeters giant built like a tank was running at speeds that even the fastest man on the planet would find difficult to keep up and It looked like he was just jogging which was preposterous yet that was the feeling captain Xi was getting.
"Mr. Von Death,"
Captain Xi shouted while waving his hand as he did Dracula came to a screeching halt by dropping to his side causing his boots to sink Into the ground and tear up the perfectly trimmed grass and dirt.
"J*sus just how much does he weigh?"
Captain Xi couldn't help but mutter only for Dracula to jog up to him seeing this Captain Xi opened his mouth.
"Mr. Von Death I've got your... associates. They're a bit worse for wear."
MC POV
I raised an eyebrow, my gaze shifting to the jeep.
"I can see that. Thank you, Captain."
Captain Xi nodded and headed back to the jeep.
"Alright, you overgrown lot. Out you go."
The three men stumbled out of the jeep, their attempts to stand straight futile.
I stepped forward, my expression a mix of amusement and exasperation.
"You know I didn't think It was possible to reach this state but you really opened my eyes this time"
I said, shaking my head.
"Just a bit of fun,"
Airid replied with a grin.
"More like w*oring and drinking your way through the whole capital there's hundreds of short reels of you three f*cks doing g*d's know what on the Internet If not for Lilith deleting them you'd be all over the news right now."
I barked only to see the three schmucks of mine scratch their heads.
"Sigh let's just go already this Is the last time I let you loose like this"
As Dracula and the boys made their way into the mansion, Captain Xi watched them go, still shaking his head.
"Yeah I'm either going crazy or the world Is going crazy"
He muttered to himself as he got Into the car and drove off.
Inside, Dracula led his battle brothers to a spacious living area, where they collapsed onto the couches.
"Get some rest,"
I instructed.
"And try not to wreck the place while you're at it."
Airid gave a thumbs up, already half-asleep.
"You got it, boss."
...
As I walked into the mansion's study, In there I found Hope and Lilith's virtual presence Inside her state of the art Laptop hard at work.
Hope was diligently taking care of various tasks, such as paying off her loans, clearing her apartment debts, and finalizing the last details for her company and my own PMC under Hopes company.
There was also the new administrative-level artificial AI whose appearance was bugging me since the first time we tested It on Hopes smartphone.
"Hey Lilith, why does that administrative AI look and sound exactly like you?"
I asked out loud as I did Llith appeared in my HUD view, her holographic expression neutral as always.
"Reporting sir It's because I've decided that this kind of appearance would fool our enemies If they ever got a whiff of me and there's also the fact..."
Lilith reported only to fall silent as If she wasn't sure if she should say it or not.
"And?"
I prompted, sensing there was more to it.
"And,"
Lilith continued,
"I have inserted my core code into the AI sir, essentially making it a trojan horse. It will operate as a standard administrative AI, but I can take control if necessary."
Hearing this my lips curled into a wicked smile.
"Now that's my girl."
I blurted out subconsciously only to shake my head, here I was doing It again mistaking Lilith for my Lil.
Yet how could I not then she acted and sounded like a living person.
And In truth the fact that she was so close to being real terrified me, I've seen enough t*rminator movies to know that self aware AI is a big mistake.
But what was done was done this was a problem for future me who will definitely will want to crack my skull open for this.
Turning my attention back to Hope, I asked.
"How's everything coming along?"
Hope looked up from her screen, her eyes slightly red after all she hadn't slept a wink since the moment she woke up which was a few days ago even with her heavily augmented body she still lacked key augmentations that were essential for cosmic marines.
"We're almost there. Just finalizing the last details for my company and your PMC, we already have the licenses for military gear thanks to gramps pulling a few strings and the new administrative AI is operational."
"Got It"
I said, nodding.