CHAPTER 91: UNWANTED PARTNERSHIPS

It was a new day, and Liam was already dressed in his three-piece suit, adjusting his overcoat as he prepared to head into the facility. Finding Yaela, gaining more access within the dimensional space, and fighting against the thirteen families—all of it required one fundamental thing: Liam needed to become stronger than he currently was.

He walked past his apartment doors and closed them behind him, and anyone quick enough to catch it through their windows would see nothing more than a flash of silvery-blue lightning streaking past.

Meanwhile, the destruction of the Quillforte facility had started generating different stories on the news and even conspiracy theories on social media. A whole facility’s destruction like that wouldn’t go unnoticed, not one bit.

Though none of the victims came forward to speak about their ordeals, either due to fear or direct advice from Quinn Monroe herself to stay quiet, since the last thing both parties needed was unwanted attention.

The Ranking Board Committee had also confirmed the deaths of the Quillfortes, Helda and Zebelon but since no one claimed responsibility, which would prompt to taking their places on the Rankings, the only changes made to the list were filling their spots by pushing people who ranked below them upward.

This left unfilled spots toward the end of the list, though they wouldn’t stay empty for long. There were already speculations on social media, especially Reddit, that the fast-rising USOV visor Liam Garry might be taking one of those spots.

Liam, however, didn’t know about any of these speculations or how far the news had spread. He truly wasn’t a social media person, barely using his device unless he needed to make calls or reply to texts. Being an agent of USOV and the Player of the evolution system was hard enough—between daily missions, fighting monsters, and secret assignments, there simply wasn’t time for anything else.

He eventually arrived at the facility and walked right in, where an agent who had been watching for him approached. "Sorry for bothering you, Mr. Liam, but I was asked to look out for you today by the director and to tell you once I saw you to go to his office."

Liam simply nodded, and the agent continued on his way, having fulfilled his instructions. Liam made his way toward the director’s office. Stepping inside, he saw Kent sitting on the sofas across from a blonde-haired man in a suit, with Grey sitting at his desk in front of them.

Liam’s gaze met Grey’s. "You requested to see me, Director?"

"Oh yeah, I did," Grey confirmed, then gestured toward the blonde man, prompting Liam’s attention to shift. "That’s our new guy, and you’ll be taking him under your wing." The man waved with a grin.

"What?" Liam exclaimed, his expression showing clear discomfort with what Grey was trying to pull on him.

"Yes, he’s a field agent, though it’s temporary until we decide what team to put him in," Grey said, staring at Liam steadily.

"But I usually pair with Team C," Liam protested, then added, "and I’m not a team leader."

Grey looked at him with a face that didn’t give a damn about his complaints. "You’re only friends with Team C, but you’re not part of Team C, and like I said, this arrangement is only temporary."

Liam sighed. "There’s no getting out of this, is there? I don’t even show up every day, Director."

"Nope, there’s no getting out of it, and yes, it’s fine if you only show up when needed. He’ll be with you for any further assistance from then on—matter of fact, he’s S-Tier," Grey said, still wearing the same expressionless face.

Liam sighed again, realizing there was no point arguing further. He looked at the fellow who still had that gleeful expression even though they’d literally just discussed him as if he weren’t there.

The man immediately stood and extended his right hand toward Liam. "Looking forward to working with you, Mr. Liam," Brian said with a grin.

Liam shook his hand. "I think the director is making a huge mistake, but welcome aboard," he replied, still clearly displeased with Grey’s decision.

Frankly, it was intentional on Grey’s part. Pairing Liam with someone to be responsible for was a way to keep him anchored to USOV—knowing that someone was under his care would make Liam more conscious about showing up consistently at work, allowing them to maintain their watch over him.

Brian, for his part, said to Liam, "Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll be fine."

And truthfully, Brian, or rather Vaiden—could not have asked for a better outcome. The very figure he’d seen in Helda’s memories, the whole reason he’d left his studio in the first place, was standing right in front of him and would now be working closely with him.

What he’d witnessed in his descendant’s memories was so intriguing that he felt it was worth studying up close, especially after Helda had expressed that strange thought about Liam having the aura of a god in her final moments.

Had humanity developed so much that they could possibly challenge the family heads? It was a question he desperately wanted answered.

Kent’s voice broke into his thoughts. "Speaking of which, Brian, we don’t know what your abilities can do."

Brian then turned toward Kent. "Ah yes, about that, I can overload one’s mind with information."

Grey looked at him with a questioning expression. "What sort of ability is that? Can we see how it works?" He was genuinely curious, having never heard of such a power before.

Brian nodded. "So who am I trying it on?" Then he added with a fair warning, "It might sting a little."

Liam interjected confidently, "Try it out on me—give it your best shot."

"Alright," Brian said simply with a smirk. He stared for a moment into Liam’s eyes and whispered, "Overload."

At that moment, Liam’s expression went completely blank. He stared into the open, unable to react or move his body while several numbers and letters kept replicating across his irises.

Kent was taken aback, and Grey, whose face showed equal awe, asked, "What are you doing to him?"

Brian answered calmly, "Right now, he’s experiencing an influx of useless knowledge—numbers, history, why a certain felon died by gunshot. There are no limits to it. The information is so overwhelming that his brain is unable to make his body move, and if this continues long enough..."

Brian snapped his fingers, and Liam went down on both knees, his eyes and veins so strained he couldn’t utter a word.

"...then his brain would get fried," Brian concluded, still maintaining that smile.