CHAPTER 320: OLD BAG OF BONES.

After discussing their plans some more, Lev had to put an end to it, seeing as he had a lot of moving to do. That was when Dante decided to make him an offer.

"Want some help?"

He picked one of the larger machines, placed a hand on it, and a couple of minutes later, the machine disappeared. That got a much stronger reaction out of his bony friend, even stronger than when he showed him the blue capsules.

"Holly-" Holding his head in both hands, Lev glanced at the spot where the machine was before almost snapping his neck as he turned to Dante. "Bro, how much can you carry!!?"

"A few hundred tons," Dante said with a grin.

"Dear god..." Pausing, the bony guy then pointed two fingers at him. "You used it to deliver the package!"

"Obviously. I can’t just go around carrying drugs, you know?"

"That’s... insane..." Going silent for a couple of seconds, Lev let his jaw fall as he grinned. "Say, Dante, do you happen to be looking for a job?"

"We’re short on time so nothing below a million Gs," Dante said right away. "Also, I have some plans for the near future, so I can’t make any commitments."

"Seriously..." Letting his shoulders slump, the bony guy heaved a long sigh. "That ability of yours makes you the perfect courier. You can practically deliver any package anywhere without ever being caught."

"So long as no one sees me using it," Dante said. "I don’t mind helping you move, but I would rather not be a delivery guy."

"Alright, alright, I get it... Maaaaaaaaan! I’m so jealous! That’s one pretty convenient ability to have! You could carry entire labs around and no one would notice!"

As Dante continued loading the machines and equipment, Lev went on and on about the many uses an ability like Storage could have. Listening to him reminded Dante that he wasn’t making full use of it, so he made a mental note to work on that in the future.

Being one of the most wanted criminals in the entire Radmir Union, Lev obviously couldn’t move around freely, even when it’s night. Because of that, he had no choice but to go through one of the most obscure paths around the city－the sewers.

Nowadays, people would struggle to believe that Neo-Vatra was once tormented by floods. One can hardly believe it was a coastal city, all thanks to the border wall blocking off the sea. A remnant of the old days when a single storm could destroy everything was the city’s extensive sewer and drainage systems.

It was an entire maze that stretched under most districts, created from thousands of interlinked pipes, tunnels, and reservoirs. If one needed to traverse the city in secret, using it was the best choice. Heavy emphasis on was.

It had long since fallen into disrepair, and with the aging structure collapsing every day, no one in their right mind would rely on it if they could. That was a subtle hint at the Alchemist’s unstable mental state. He was one of the few people who would brave the dark tunnels without even a flashlight in his hands.

One could argue that Dante was no less crazy for following him into the underground maze when he had no reason to. He made the choice on a whim, mostly to distract himself from his current situation. The darkness and the stench didn’t bother him as much as the chance of being caught wandering around with the

Alchemist.

Though he tried not to think about it, Dante was secretly hoping that they would get ambushed. The heroes were likely high on their own farts now that Paragon was here, and getting to crush some of them would probably feel great.

In the end, nothing appeared in their path except the occasional rat -actual rats- and they soon emerged on the surface, exiting through a passage hidden inside the basement of some building. Making their way outside, they found a van waiting for them in a dark alley along with some massive, round creature.

"Hey Boris!" Lev said. "Did you gain a few more kilos!!?"

Dante jumped in on the fun right away.

"Man, I know it’s New Year’s and all, but you gotta hold back a little!"

The big guy didn’t look too happy, but the reason wasn’t their comments.

"You know what hour it is, right?" He asked. "And it’s my goddamn holiday! Can’t I get a break for once?"

"Anyone hearing you would think you’re a corpo slave." Said Lev.

"I’m a slave, alright! Who in the world wakes up at six on a holiday!? Viktor isn’t even back yet!"

"Don’t know how you were able to sleep at all," Dante said. "Didn’t you get the news?"

"I got the news, alright." The big guy fixed him with a glare. "Don’t know what that has to do with us, though."

"You aren’t being serious, right?" Dante asked.

"Listen, man," The big guy said as he climbed into the driver’s seat. "The Legion of Valor handles bigger problems. Even if he’s here, Paragon won’t be bothering with low-level villains."

"You just had to say that." Dante sighed.

"Now that’s rude, I’m-"

Before the bony guy could make things worse, Dante hurried to push him into the back of the van.

"Alright, let’s get moving."

They were out of the dark alley soon enough, entering one of the highways. As usual, only Boris sat at the front while Dante and Lev took the back. It wasn’t much of a silent drive as they soon started chatting about stuff, and that was when Dante remembered to ask something.

"Hey, how do you get your hideouts?"

The question was obviously directed at his bony friend, who took longer than expected to answer.

"I just by a bunch of places and convert them. "

"... That’s it?"

"What did you expect?"

"C’mon, there has to be more to it than just that."

One doesn’t run the most dangerous drug empire in the world from just anywhere.

"Well, there are some rules you need to follow," Lev said.

"Like?"

"First of all, keep it low. No second or third floors. Preferably, it has to be underground."

"I guess that... makes sense..."

"Second, you want it somewhere where people mind their own business. That dump we just left, I actually own a big chunk of the area around it."

Dante broke into a coughing fit.

"Y-you own..."

"Don’t be too dramatic, lil’ bro," Lev said. "One needs to put their cash somewhere."

"And you wouldn’t pay me a few extra thousand Gs." Dante replied.

"That’s just how business works." Cackling a little, the bony guy continued. "If you own the land, you can do what you want with it. You can make it look like a dump where not even homeless people hang out, or you can pay people’s rent so they would keep their eyes open, and their mouths shut."

"That... sounds like it’ll take a lot of money," Dante said.

"Don’t let his bum appearance trick you." Said Boris. "Remember what kind of business he’s running."

"Right..."

As he was right now, Dante had no way of pulling the same trick as his bony friend. Land and property had always been the most expensive things money can buy, even more so when they are a part of a massive city like Neo-Vatra. Most people will never see their names on a land deed in their life so buying a whole bunch just to hide wasn’t feasible.

’Talk about crazy...’

Right now, Dante was more focused on his cyberfication and had no plans to buy property, meaning he needed to take a different path for his hideout.

"Any other advice?"

"Well, the most important thing is very simple." Said Lev. "You gotta make sure no one sees you coming in or going out. That’s-"

"Shush." Boris interrupted. "We got a road blockade."

The van soon came to a halt, standing in line behind other vehicles. Dante peeked at the front and saw that there was a bunch of police cars blocking the road, inspecting the cars one by one.

"Just our luck, I guess." He said.

"What are we going to do about this?" Boris asked.

They had one of the most notorious villains in the city riding with them. A single mistake and it was over.

"Hey, can’t you just store me?" Lev asked.

"It doesn’t store living beings," Dante replied.

The storage function was supposed to be a pocket dimension controlled by VOLCAN. Dante had yet to grasp how it works exactly. For example, the things he places inside it remain in the same state no matter how much time passes. He first noticed it when some corpses remained fresh even after being in the Storage for days.

At first, he thought that time simply didn’t pass inside, but apparently, there is a lot more to it than that. For that reason, Volcan had warned him against putting people inside, saying they’re likely to end up dead anyway.

"Just cover up and don’t say anything." Said Boris. "I will try to get us out of this mess."

"Wait, got an idea," Dante said.

The line moved and the van’s turn for inspection soon came. One of the officers walked over to Boris.

"Good morning, officer. Did something happen?"

"Just routine inspection." The officer replied. "You’re up awfully early."

"Ugh, you don’t have to tell me, officer. Just cause I got this rust bucket, they keep calling me whenever something needs moving."

"Moving, huh? Mind if I check the back?"

"Sure."

Though the conversation progressed naturally, the police officer still looked at Boris with suspicion. It might just be because he’s an asshole, but that is something to be expected from someone forced to work the morning of a New Year.

The asshole officer and a partner of his walked to the back of the truck and pulled the door open, looking inside for a few seconds. The first thing they saw was the cot stretched in the middle of the van, then the red-haired youth sitting beside it.

"Wassup." Dante gave them an upward nod.

When they saw the medical mask covering his face, they turned to the cot. The pale, shriveled skin made them think they were looking at a corpse, and that’s what they would have believed if not for the occasional cough.

"Don’t mind the old bag of bones, officer." Boris tried to turn around in his seat, but he only managed to turn his head. "I’m keeping him at my place till we find a spot at the graveyard."

"Who’re you-" a hoarse voice hissed, only to be interrupted by more coughing. "Who’re you calling... old..."

Grimacing, the two officers glanced at the suitcases on the side and quickly made up a story in their minds. Closing the doors, the asshole officer banged on the side of the van.

"Alright, you can go now."