CHAPTER 133: CHAPTER 133 - MERCER HEADQUARTERS IN TROUBLE?!

Three hours later, Logan found himself inside an air shuttle towards San Diego under his new identity.

’I’m a twenty-year-old student now,’ he thought, glancing outside the window. ’Got to act like one too.’

His hair had changed to a blond color and he’d grown two inches taller. He’d also made himself look a little more muscular and tanned.

Logan smiled slightly as he stared at the passing farmland under him.

’Without Edric I wouldn’t have been able to leave this quickly.’

After Logan messaged him, it took Edric barely a minute to send back a completely fake identity.

’He must’ve somewhat figured out what I was planning when I asked him for the list,’ Logan thought, smiling.

Edric might not know the full picture, but he knew enough to cover for him without asking questions.

There was nothing urgent back at headquarters either. The Alvarez family was too busy rewriting the narrative and doing damage control to stir up more trouble—for now.

"I can finally focus on my plan," he muttered, closing his eyes.

After flying for two hours, Logan opened his eyes again as the air shuttle landed at San Diego airport.

The air outside was warm and salty as Logan followed after the crowd and stepped off the shuttle.

He slipped on a cap and put his hands in his pockets as he walked through the bustling airport.

’No one is really paying attention to me,’ Logan thought, smiling in satisfaction. ’This disguise might be an even better one than last time.’

Heading to the bus terminal outside, the list of names ran through his head again.

’Several of them are directly related to the Alvarez family—and a few already checked into the Crest Hotel outside Willowshade.’

The bus heading to Willowshade pulled up ten minutes later.

It was an older model, with cracked windows, faded paint, and a really strong scent of sweat from people crammed together in the heat.

Logan boarded without a word, choosing a seat near the back where he could lean against the windows.

The ride would take just under an hour, giving him plenty of time to think.

’I need to be sure,’ Logan thought, leaning his head against the glass. ’If even one of those people is an innocent bystander...’

He kept his head down the entire ride, his mind weighing off countless possibilities.

’At least eight of them are serious offenders, while many others are minor offenders,’ he thought. ’Their crimes range from strange disappearances and sexual abuse, all the way down to theft and petty street fights.’

It wouldn’t be an understatement to call it a gathering of spoiled rich brats. But despite that...

’Some of them have completely clean files,’ he thought, clenching his fist.

As the bus reached the town, Logan finally pushed the thoughts out of his head.

Willowshade was nothing like the capital. The streets were wide but cracked, lined with convenience stores, rundown apartments, and guild-owned hotels boasting their ’rates’ in glowing letters.

’That should be the hotel,’ he thought, walking along the pavement.

In the distance, a billboard with bright red letters that spelled out Crest Hotel entered his vision.

Stepping through the doors, he immediately noticed the difference between this hotel and others he’d seen along the way.

’This is quite luxurious,’ Logan thought, nodding approvingly at the polished marble floors and digital reception. ’The Alvarez family must’ve spent quite some money on this.’

Feeling someone staring at him, Logan discreetly turned around.

A receptionist stared at him from behind her desk, her eyes narrowing as a disgusted expression flashed across her face.

Logan raised an eyebrow but ignored her and used one of the self-check-in terminals.

’Let’s keep it low profile,’ he thought. ’Just need a place to observe and wait.’

His room was on the third floor. He had hired a relatively basic room overlooking the courtyard behind the hotel.

It didn’t take long before he recognized some of the faces from the list loitering outside.

The first one was a girl in her early twenties, red streaks in her otherwise black hair. She stood outside for nearly half an hour chatting with her brother.

’Her name is Arla Alvarez,’ he thought. ’And opposite of her stands her boyfriend, Adam Sekat.’

Arla wasn’t part of the main Alvarez family—just a side branch.

’Arla was involved in two strange disappearance cases,’ Logan thought, remembering the files. ’And her boyfriend seemed to have a sexual abuse charge that magically disappeared after he met her.’

Another target appeared an hour later. A bulky man with short grey hair and a slight limp. He only left the building once, walking to a nearby liquor store and returning with a crate of cheap beer.

’That’s three confirmed faces from the list so far.’

His heart had started racing with uncertainty again.

The choice was way harder now. Some of them clearly deserved to die while others were completely innocent.

’I can’t choose who the bait will kill,’ he thought. ’And if I pick off a few myself, there’d be countless guards waiting for me at the entrance.’

The next few days brought more movement, but didn’t get him any closer to a conclusion.

On the fifth day, a few more targets showed up. One small group even headed to a dungeon, but not for what one might expect.

’What is this?’ Logan thought, narrowing his eyes. He’d followed after them from a distance, even waiting outside of the dungeon in curiosity.

He felt even more torn than before. This particular group had some of the more innocent people from a nearby guild in them.

As they left the dungeon, something caught his eye.

A shady-looking guy walked up to them, handing them a small bag while the group quickly stuffed some money into his hand.

’Drugs?’ Logan thought, raising one eyebrow.

Watching the young adults laugh and head back to the hotel, he couldn’t help but shake his head.

"Pathetic. But not a reason to die." he muttered, shaking his head.

He’d seen plenty of people his age use them, even knowing how messed up it was.

As he went back into his room, Logan crashed on his couch.

’Ugh,’ Logan thought, scratching his head with both hands. ’I don’t know what to do.’

Trying to distract himself, he picked up the TV remote and turned it on.

Suddenly, his mouth fell wide open as time slowed down around him.

The TV remote fell from his hand, crashing on the floor.

But he couldn’t hear it.

His full attention was attracted by the television screen.

BREAKING NEWS – Explosion Reported at Mercer Headquarters in Denver

Everything in his head stopped.

Only the pounding of his heart remained as his eyes locked onto one word.

Mercer.