"Yes, this is the Country Z special forces offices; how may I help you?"
"Pax, what's up, man? Remember Enzo from college? Boy, I have a story for you!"
A few seconds of silence filled the line until an exacerbated sigh came from the other end.
"Enzo, how did you even know I worked here? Better yet, I heard you dropped out recently; what's wrong, bro? Are you in trouble?"
Enzo felt touched for a moment. They had been good friends, but he hadn't connected with Pax in his previous life since the man had just disappeared.
He only found out after the integration that Pax had joined the Country Z special forces.
"It's a long story, anyway, I have some intel for you if you're interested."
Pax snorted. "Intel Enzo? On what? Whose pants are easiest to slip into? Who has the tightest ass? Man, seriously, these are the special forces. You can't play like-"
"I have intel about who's really behind Beast Evolution."
Pax started to respond, but suddenly, the line got cut, and a new voice appeared on the phone. "Is that right… Enzo, is it?"
The voice sounded deep and guttural, a voice that shook Enzo to his core.
He swiftly hung up the phone as sweat started to trickle down his forehead.
"I fucked up."
The voice on the other end was Darin Bayloff.
As that fact sunk in, Enzo realized a startling truth, a truth he should have realized in his first life.
Enzo had wanted to pit the government against the Crimson Serpents and the Bayloff family, but he was too naive.
The Bayloff's weren't just the owners of Beast Evolution.
They were the bosses of the whole damn country, maybe even the world.
He had exposed himself and now had new problems to deal with.
Enzo had just learned from his previous trip to the docks that the Crimson Serpents were being controlled by the Bayloff family, and now he learned that the government was, too.
The leader of Nox City's Crimson Serpents that he talked to told him that the Bayloff family didn't want the government to know they owned the Crimson Serpents, but that was a lie.
They didn't want them to know because if they knew, everyone would know what a tyrant the Bayloff family truly was.
Thinking back on his previous life, Enzo connected a few dots and confusing information.
"My goal for taking over Earth just got a lot more complicated."
Enzo ran through Nox city, not caring about attracting attention by using his powers.
He had kidnapped Young Miss Sophia, so he was sure that someone would soon come. From the mysterious items Sophia had been carrying that allowed people to track energy usage on Earth, he didn't know what other tricks the descendants had up their sleeves.
====
After arriving home, Enzo put Sophia down on the couch and ran to his sister's room.
It was midnight, so that meant she should be home and in bed, but when he flung open her door, she was nowhere to be seen.
A sinking feeling came over him, but he stopped to think.
He hadn't seen Ari for a while, in fact, not since the launch of Beast Evolution.
Enzo tried to think back on his previous life and what had happened to Ari but realized his memories of her were hazy.
"That's strange. All I can remember is that someone came and showed me proof that she was alive in my last life and that she wasn't related to me. I think I was too focused at the time to really process, but that guy must have been Tier-6 at least…"
Something was strange with his sister, but Enzo didn't have time to ponder it.
Enzo had an inkling that, at least for now, Ari was safe.
He could deal with finding out about her later.
Going to his room, Enzo took a few items to remember this place by; he also stopped by Ari's room to grab a few of her things as well.
Then without further ado, he lit the stove and got a can of gasoline from the garage.
Taking a look one last time at his childhood house, Enzo poured the gasoline onto the fire and sped out the house.
He felt the heat, but it only tickled his skin as he sensed his house starting to go up in flames.
Entering the woods, Enzo was about to teleport to the Razzar Continent before he suddenly stopped and cursed.
"Fuck, I forgot Sophia!"
A minute later, appearing with a slightly crispier Sophia, Enzo willed himself and what he was holding into Beast Evolution.
Enzo had never tried to teleport with someone into Beast Evolution, but he knew it was possible.
Instead of appearing in the Dragon Tower, Enzo found himself in his room in the Alveron Kingdom.
He had been gone from the Alveron Kingdom for multiple days with the time dilation and was pleasantly surprised to see that his quest hadn't failed.
"So, my golden goose is still alive, splendid."
He glanced down at the unconscious Sophia and called out, "Port, what do you think I should do with this one?"
Appearing next to Enzo, Port held his trusty bottle and seemed to be more sober than normal.
'Maybe he's going easy for my sake,' Enzo mused inwardly.
"Who is she?" Port asked, cocking his eyebrow at the blonde.
"Her name is Young Miss Sophia, and she's a descendant from the Conglomerate."
Port looked her over and happily chuckled. "Looks like you caught a big one, boy. This will help us a lot!"
"So you have an idea of what we can do with her?"
"Yes," Port nodded. We have a few options, including torturing her for information, although that isn't likely to work."
Port rubbed his stubble. "We could forcefully turn her into a subordinate, but that isn't that great an option either."
Enzo rolled his eyes. "It seems like you have something specific in mind."
A gleaming grin passed over Port's face. "That's right! We do a descendant auction!"
Enzo stared at Port in silence, waiting for Port to continue.
When he didn't, Enzo rolled his eyes and asked the question Port was waiting for.
"And what is a descendant auction?"
"Simple!" Port shouted. "We simply sell her to the highest bidder!"
Enzo had lived for 10 years on Earth after the integration had spawned.
He had seen and done terrible things.
Simply selling another human was not near his bottom line.
If she had been a child, it would have been another matter.
But as Enzo knew Sophia was no saint and was an adult, he had no qualms selling her.
'Besides, she'll most likely be bought back by her family. So no harm done in the end, right?'