[2000 PSs bonus chapter]

Carter knew far more than even Sylas expected, but it probably made sense since he had thought that they were after him.

They had appeared in the evening, not even four or five hours ago, and they were all extremely inconspicuous, or so they thought.

They surrounded the house and entered through covert means, and honestly, Carter thought that meant they were after more people than just him. He wasn't naive enough to believe that he was the only one who had passed the Trial in this place, especially after meeting Sylas.

However, according to Carter, they hadn't found anything. It was as though no one had ever lived there. The house was wiped clean.

Interestingly enough, they were still staying around the house, trying to see if they could catch someone else, or at least that's what Carter thought. He just didn't know how right he was.

Only Bloom and Mark should have escaped that night, which meant that Sylas, as the third, was the only one missing in action. If he didn't know better and returned directly to the house, they could certainly catch him.

But this was far from the most interesting thing that Carter mentioned.

It turned out that just two or so hours ago, a fight broke out.

It was incredibly quick and it didn't even cause much of a disturbance, but it seemed like there were two arms of the government clashing.

Sylas' eyes narrowed when he heard this.

'Two arms of the government? Unlikely. Maybe Legacy was making another move. This disk'

He felt the heft of the Madness Key around his neck.

Bloom had stayed up for three days straight listening to radio frequencies and tapping in on conversations just to finally get an inkling on where this disk was.

Now, it was on him.

Sylas stood. He couldn't stay here.

"You where are you going?"

"Not here," Sylas replied.

Carter was speechless. Suddenly, he felt like a cheaply used one-night stand being kicked out of the house even though Sylas was the one leaving.

Just as Sylas was going to leave, he paused.

"I have a job for you."

Carter frowned, but in the end, he stifled his displeasure. There wasn't much he could do since Sylas had a hold of his weakness, while he knew absolutely nothing about him but his face.

The problem was that now that technology was so finicky, knowing Sylas' face was worthless unless he wanted to make like the Wild West and start posting wanted posters for him everywhere. And even then, he'd have to draw the man first.

All in all, he was fairly screwed.

But now Sylas knew him, knew his name, knew where he lived, and what he had done. Ultimately, all the cards were in Sylas' hands.

"There's a family that I will likely have to use you to protect. I can't stay around here, and they're vulnerable because Legacy is targeting them."

"Are you crazy? Do you really think I have the strength to go against those people?"

"How much progress have you made since you've been back?" Sylas suddenly asked.

Carter froze and clenched his teeth.

The answer was obvious: none.

Maybe it was because of Voice of a King, or his Charisma, or both, but Sylas had a pretty good understanding of Carter by now.

The young man was sharp and ruthless, the perfect warrior. But he also didn't have a bad heart. It was still a gamble, but it was ultimately one that Sylas was willing to take.

Surviving the Trial alone, and without backing, already made him a cut above the rest.

[Carter Prince (F+)]

[Level: 3]

[Physical: 62]

[Mental: 49]

[Will: 33]

His stats also weren't bad, though they also weren't great.

Since Sylas was going to take a gamble, he chose to go all the way. With little hesitation, he pulled out the Gene Crystal.

**

Sylas ran with swift steps, cutting right through a familiar forest. In the darkness, the shadows flashed with an eeriness that tingled the spine, the call of crickets, and the rustle of leaves raising one's hairs.

But to Sylas, it might as well have been broad daylight. His visualization saw it all in a bright array of colors, streaking across his mind.

The family he wanted Carter to protect obviously wasn't his own. Taking them away from the Grimblades now would only be putting them in more danger. Right now, deep in the Appalachians, they were probably on one of the safest compounds on Earth. The only way that would change was if a portal suddenly opened up right above them, and the odds of that were low.

No. The family Sylas was speaking of was the Professor's.

He was a day late to their scheduled time, so he could only hope that nothing had happened in the meantime.

Once he was done here, he would have to return to Paradise.

Although he thought of using this chance to break free of the Grimblades, he ultimately thought against it.

He refused to allow his family to think that he was dead, and even if he wanted to, it was unlikely to be possible. Although the Grimblades shouldn't be able to read his exact situation until after their City was established, Sylas' interaction with Bloom had told him there were plenty of other ways to expose him.

If he wanted to overturn his situation, he would have to stay close to the belly of the beast for now while slowly curating his own power.

He hadn't forgotten about Casstle Main and its other endeavors. But though he couldn't see Cassarae for now, he could help shore up their little army in other ways.

Fighters like Carter would be important, and scientists like the professor might be even more so.

Sylas shot out of the forest and saw the university ahead. The professor lived nearby and had already given him her address, so it wasn't long before he had it in his sights.

But who would have thought that he'd run into the exact same situation he had at Bloom and Mark's house?