CHAPTER 272: CHAPTER 272: TAGGING ALONG?

Somewhere in the apocalypse...

A handsome young man could be seen sitting cross-legged in a Japanese-style room. He was shirtless with four claw marks across his muscular chest. His long black hair fluttered around like there was wind in the enclosed room.

A thin layer of energy could be seen circling around him. The energy would alternate between white and black as it serenely circled around him.

The scene looked quite otherworldly...

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Boss. We’ve received some news. Can I come in?" A voice sounded behind the door after three knocks.

"Come in. You better have found my brother this time..." The man spoke in a calm authoritative voice without opening his eyes.

The speaker then opened the door and entered the room. He then proceeded to tell the man everything he knew.

"Interesting. Get the men ready. We’re moving out in an hour. I have a good feeling about this one..." The young man spoke as he slowly opened his eyes.

They were two perfectly normal back eyes. Yet looking at them made one feel like they were looking into the abyss...

....

A while later...

Chris and Jade had stopped horsing around and sat back down. Chris had given up on punishing Jade since she was just too quick for him to catch.

He tried locking her up in a cage. But she was gone from the spot before it could fully materialise. So, he could only give up. They were only horsing around to lift each other’s dampened spirits. Sure, they said that their brother was okay. But they both still felt very worried.

Then there was the issue of their mother. Neither said anything about it. They knew that if the other knew anything, they would have long mentioned it. They chose to leave it unsaid since it would only make them feel worse. They could only hope that she was fine. If she wasn’t, then they hoped her end was painless... Even if it was highly unlikely...

"So, what’s your plan now?" Chris alsked Jade. He was indirectly asking her to come along with him.

"Don’t bother. I have my own team. If anyone is joining anyone, it is you joining me" Jade immediately shut him down. While she loved her brother a lot, she was in too deep in her own team to leave. They were practically family at that point. It was hard not to think of them as such after everything they went through together.

"Hmm. Is that so? While that sucks. It’s expected of my always independent sister. Never doing what I want you to... Oh, and, I can’t join you either. I have my own team as you can see. And we have a stable enough life somewhere. Not to mention what just happened with one of our own..." Chris also rejected Jade’s offer. Then he sadly mentioned Pete’s demise.

"About that... What are you planning to do? Your boss killed your friend then pretty much said that it was all in a whim. If I were you, I’d be plotting revenge. Ow!" Jade gave her insight into the matter.

Emily pinched her for her incentive words. Everyone present was well aware of what happened. And they also knew of the terror which Monarchs brought. What can Chris and his group possibly do?

In fact, Jade’s words just reminded them of their weaknesses. All their expressions turned gloomy. Gnoth even tightened his fist until blood came out. This highlighted his frustration.

"Sigh. I also want revenge. But that’s not something we can do. And we all knew the risk which came with the job. So, while it pains us all. The only revenge which we could possibly carry out was taking care of that slime. Which you kindly took care of for us. For that reason we’re grateful. As for attacking the real trouble source. That’s not even an option. Maybe in the future. But for now, we can only suck it up and soldier on. If a chance presents itself at some point. We will take it without hesitation. But for now, we’ll just quietly continue surviving in the organisation... Speaking of which, why are you speaking like you know a few things about our organisation?" Chris didn’t take offence at Jade’s words.

As her brother. He had long gotten used to how thoughtless she could be. The girl just had no filter.

He patiently explained to her why real revenge was off the table. And as he spoke, his teammates, including Gnoth nodded in agreement. None of them were dumb enough to let their emotions get them killed. Pete wouldn’t want or support that.

Chris then went on to ask Jade why she seemed overly informed despite not being from his organisation. And he hadn’t said enough about it for her to speak like that.

"Umm... Well, we had a few run-ins with your organisation. Tactoa, right? I won’t get into detail. But I will say that one of my groupmates lost a father to your organisation. He was killed by another Monarch but still, it’s the same organisation, right? Then there were some randos a while back who attacked me and I ended up sending them on their way... Point is, there’s no reconciliation between us and your organisation. I’m only saying this since you’re my brother and also have your issues with Tactoa. So, I know you won’t sell us out" Jade explained.

"Oh, so that’s how it is... No wonder you didn’t even entertain the idea of joining me. As for keeping quiet because I’m your brother... Let’s say it’s only possible because my team now has hard feelings toward the organisation as well. If not, then who knows what would happen" Chris spoke in an understanding tone, then finished with a joke which made Jade’s expression turn dark.

"Hey! Are you saying you would have thrown me under the bus in normal circumstances? How could you?! I’m your only sister! I’ll never trust you again you traitorous brother!" Jade exclaimed angrily. Her eyes were wide with surprise. She didn’t expect such words from Chris.

"Calm down. I didn’t mean it like that. I meant that even if I wanted to keep it under wraps. My teammates might not have thought the same. Even if I requested them to. Who knows if they would keep quiet? Especially James ("Hey!" James shouted)... Anyway, would you excuse us for a minute? We need to discuss something for a bit" Chris clarified and took a little jab at James who was fidgeting in the back.

"Sure" Jade responded while she and Emily watched Chris and his team go to the side for a bit. She was curious to know what he wanted to speak to them about. But she didn’t eavesdrop.

Though it wasn’t like she could do it even if she wanted to. Chris had cast a soundproof barrier around his group before they began speaking.

Of course, she could use her hearing ability. But it would be too obvious with her cat ears sticking out of her head.

.....

Inside Chris’ barrier...

"So, our mission is practical over. What do you all propose we do next?" Chris asked his teammates.

"I’ll go with whatever you choose" Scarlett was the first one to reply. Her answer was quite expected too.

"I’ll go with whatever Scarlett chooses" James was very with another expected reply.

"What do you want to do?" Gnoth asked Chris seriously while looking him in the eyes. He, as Chris’s old friend knew that Chris wanted to do something which strayed from the path they would normally take.

"... I want to follow my sister for a bit and see how she lives her life. It is only then that I can be completely assured of her safety. While I know Emily and I know she is a good friend. I want to see whether the others are also good people. I won’t force anyone to come with me..." Chris replied seriously.

"Oh, so that’s what you want to do. Well, I can also be considered little Jade’s brother, so, I’ll come along with you... And since the others already said they are coming along. I guess the whole team is going on a vacation" Gnoth replied and even forced a smile on his face at the end.

While he said it was to help Chris look after Jade. It was obvious that he just wanted to distract himself from a certain fresh event. Losing Pete was like losing a blood brother to him.

"Great! I knew I could count on you all. Let me notify the leader then. I’m sure she’ll agree to give us a break after what happened..." Chris spoke then proceeded to send a message through the device he received from the base.

The technology was still weak so they communicated through Morse code. It took a bit, but Chris finished reporting everything soon enough. Of course, he didn’t mention Jade and Emily.

He did mention the Monarch killing Pete though. And like they expected, it earned his group a two-month-long break. Their leader knew how to take care of her subordinates well...

As for the matter with NL Base. He reported what he thought when he first arrived. Which was, "a battle occurred, guns exploded, everything and everyone got wiped out". Which was believable enough and the leader believed it...

"So... About Pete..." Chris spoke while looking at Gnoth after finishing his report.

"Say no more. Like you said. There’s nothing we can do. We can only bide our time for now and hope that a chance for revenge presents itself in the future. While it’s sad to lose a brother. It’s part of life, he’ll live on our memories. Let’s go tell your sister the good news, I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to have you around for a while..." Gnoth interrupted Chris and expressed his understanding of the wait-and-see strategy Chris had decided on.

"I’m glad you’re on board, brother" Chris replied as he smiled a little bit.

.....

A few moments later...

"No" Jade refused Chris’s request to follow her with a deadpan expression on her face.