CHAPTER 321: GIVE ME A CALL.

"Man, how many times are we gonna go through this?"

Boris was already annoyed when they were stopped the first time, but after the third, he was simply furious. It felt like a blockade had been set at every intersection, and for some reason, they always take their time checking the van.

"You should have brought a car," Dante said.

"I wasn’t called for a ride, you know," Boris replied.

The big guy was expecting that he would help move some of Lev’s stuff, since he was told that they were changing hideouts again. That’s why he brought the van, but that ended up drawing way too much attention.

The only one who didn’t seem too bothered was their bony friend, who decided to take a nap, playing the role of a sickly old man like a professional. He was using the same cot from his hideout, which Dante had placed in his storage. The suitcases belonged to Dante and were full of his stuff.

"Something is clearly happening." Dante thought for a moment. ’Hey, mind checking around?’

[Understood.] Volcan replied, and not long after, he came back with an answer. [There have been multiple arrests in the last few hours.]

’And why is that?’

[It does not seem like they are attempting to capture any specific individual.]

Sighing, Dante shook his head.

"Don’t tell me they got us figured out." Lev suddenly said.

"You’re awake?"

"It’s the announcement." Ignoring him, the Alchemist went on. "A lot of crooks must have started moving around, changing places just in case the popos were planning some big moves."

"Guess those who were in a rush messed up," Dante said.

"Good thing we brought none of your stuff along." Said Boris. "Hey, by the way, where did you get all that stuff? I’m pretty sure the back was empty."

Lev glanced at Dante, and the two exchanged a smile. If the bony guy had continued packing the way he did, he would have finished by noon. The news would have reached him at the time, making him reconsider his plans, but because Dante sped things up, they ended in this whole mess.

"Where are we going, anyway?" He asked.

"I need to set up a new place just in case," Lev said. "We’re going to White Hill."

"Huh, a pretty decent upgrade."

After two hours spent navigating traffic and police blockades, the three finally made it to their destination. Well, more like they made it to the border. For a district in a bustling megacity, White Hill wasn’t built for vehicles. Normal cars would struggle to find passage, let alone an entire van. Despite that, Boris still found a way.

The trip took them to the deeper parts, almost near the district’s center. Dante thought that his bony friend would have a place near the border, but apparently that was too much, even for him.

"Alright," Lev said after descending. "Let’s get this place settled."

Just as they were about to enter the building, Volcan spoke up.

[Dante, I detect a familiar signal nearby.]

’Who is it?’

[It seems to be Ms. Suzuka and Ms. Kizuna.]

’Huh?’

Those certainly weren’t the names he was expecting to hear; then again, seeing their first meeting took place in the Pit, it wasn’t that strange for them to be at such a place.

The building Lev led them to seemed to be occupied, though only the upper floors. As for the basement and everything under it, it hadn’t been touched in years. Dante was dragged into helping with the cleaning, unlike Boris, who made a run for it as soon as he dropped them off. While he was at it, he got a message from Finn asking where he was.

"Man, this is a real pain." He said after a while.

Most of the cleaning was being handled by drones, but even then, there was still much to do. Once they were done, Lev told him he could leave after unloading the equipment.

"Are you sure you’re going to be okay?" Dante asked.

"Yeah, I gotta handle this part on my own." Saying that, the bony guy put on an old exoskeleton. "It won’t feel right otherwise."

Staring at him for another long moment, Dante asked again.

"Are you sure you’re going to be okay?"

"Just get going already!"

Laughing, Dante thought about demanding payment for the help he had provided so far. He decided against it in the end and just moved to leave. Just as he reached the door, he seemed to remember something.

"Hey, Lev."

"What is it now?" The Alchemist asked, sounding groggy.

"If you get raided again, just give me a call," Dante said, sounding serious. "Especially if any of them Genomes are involved."

"Yeah yeah, you don’t have to tell me that." The bony guy shooed him with his armored hand. "Just get going already. I’ll contact you if I make any progress with the blue pills."

Though it had been covered in dust only an hour ago, the new base seemed to be readied for work beforehand. Though it lacked the traps scattered around the old hideout, it had sturdier, with large blastproof gates and a working elevator.

After responding to Finn’s message, Dante thought about what he should do next, and the answer came to him right away.

[They are still nearby.] Volcan said. [Though it seems they are underground.]

’Underground?’

Following the map, Dante found himself looking at a building that wasn’t too far from where Lev’s new hideout was. This one looked more abandoned, though.

’Are you saying they’re under this?’

[That seems to be the case.] Volcan replied.

Dante immediately suspected that the girl had a hideout of her own in the area, and despite just reminding himself that their first meeting happened in the Pit, he still made the mistake of thinking it didn’t suit her.

After considering what he should do, Dante decided to invite himself inside and see what it looks like.

’Are there any security cams around?’

[Yes. There are quite a few.] Volcan replied.

’Guess she saw us already, then.’

Slipping through the broken door, Dante wandered around for some time then pretended to climb up to the upper floor.

’Ghost Mode?’

[The security system here is much more robust. It will take some more time for me to infiltrate it.]

’Got it... Give me 8-3, then.’

The dark armor had already recovered from the damage Nobara dealt to it, so it was ready for use once more. As usual, Spatial Awareness was activated right away, scanning the building and under it. A couple of minutes later, Dante obtained a 3D model of everything.

’Shouldn’t she be here for now?’

Since he hadn’t put any effort into hiding himself, Dante expected her to come get him by now. He must have triggered a dozen alerts, too, so there is no way she hadn’t noticed him. After waiting a couple more minutes, he decided to just go in, opening a gate into the elevator shaft leading below and stepping through it.

’I’d better not find them scissoring down there.’

Opening another one, he reached the underground floor, right in front of a gate no different from the one leading to Lev’s hideout. Two gates and a long corridor later, he finally reached the real hideout.

"Took you long enough."

Apparently, Suzuka had been waiting for him this entire time. She was hunched over a workbench, her face covered with some mask loaded with a bunch of optical sensors. Dismissing his armor, Dante looked around.

"So you knew I was coming after all." He said. "Was opening the door too much to ask for?"

"I don’t have grandma’s sorcery, remember?" She said. "I can’t isolate this place against your abilities."

"More reason for why you should open the door."

The large cubical room was filled with heavy machinery, the purpose of most unknown to Dante. He recognized an industrial 3D printer, having seen it more than once in videos about the production of bionics, but other than that, he had no idea what the rest did.

As he scanned the machines around the room, Dante seemed to spot something around the corner. He squinted to get a better look, but then he recoiled after seeing what it was. Three pods, each one containing a different human. The green-haired clanker was sleeping in on, but the other two were what startled him.

"What are you looking at?" Suzuka’s voice snapped him out of his thought.

Noticing the glare she was giving him, he was confused for a moment. When he turned to the pods again, he saw that their lids were no longer transparent. Just now, he could have sworn that he saw two other blue haired girls lying inside the remaining pods. All of them were naked, which was likely the reason why the other original one was angry, but Dante couldn’t care less about how she felt.

"They are my duplicates." She said. "They take my place whenever I have to go somewhere."