CHAPTER 80: A FRIENDLY INTERROGATIONS!

Chapter 79

"Ouch! That was painful." Jake muttered as he, along with Max, could be seen entering their room in the association base.

Both of them clutched their injured sides, which were now wrapped with bandages after a thorough treatment by the association’s medic teams.

Max had intentionally slowed down his healing trait so it would not look suspicious for a supposed human to suddenly heal at a supernatural rate. That kind of recovery was something only hybrids were known to possess, and he was not ready to blow his cover.

Jake, on the other hand, had received emergency treatment, but because of his hybrid nature, it was already a hundred percent certain that he would recover swiftly. The meds were simply to help speed up the process.

Max casually strode to his bunk—the bottom one and plopped on it lazily while tossing his sword aside with a dull clatter.

"But that was fun, right?" Jake asked with a wide grin stretching across his face.

"Don’t speak to me." Max muttered as he clicked his tongue. He then proceeded to pull off his hunter shirt, leaving only his pants on.

"But that nurse in the medic team, she was cute, wasn’t she?" Jake asked, deliberately ignoring Max’s earlier dismissal.

Sigh!

Max let out a deep breath before glaring at Jake. "You won’t stop talking, will you?"

"Nope. Till you warm up to me, I’ll keep blabbering non-stop." Jake chuckled, his grin practically splitting his face.

"You sure don’t act like you look." Max scoffed, shaking his head.

"I get that a lot." Jake shrugged. He then strode to the corner of the room, pulled out a wooden chair, and carried it closer, stopping two meters away from Max’s bed.

He sat on it, planting his butt down heavily, before fixing a sudden frown on the dragon vessel that left Max slightly stunned.

"What’s with that glare?" Max demanded with a raised brow. The previous cheerful, goofy demeanor of the quirky B-ranked hunter was now completely gone.

"I want to know one thing. Why did you lie?" Jake asked.

The question caught Max so off guard that he choked on his own saliva for a few seconds, staring at Jake warily.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked carefully.

"You’re a hybrid, aren’t you?" Jake pressed, and Max only tilted his head in mock confusion.

"Why would you say that?" he asked flatly.

"Back on the field, I glanced at you for a second to check how you were doing. I noticed you were fast—too fast to be human.

Then you used that same technique you displayed against Hunter Ben during the assessment. How can you clap and produce such a shockwave unless you’re a hybrid?" Jake explained, narrowing his eyes.

Max clicked his tongue again.

’Damn! I need to reduce how often I use my skills, otherwise my cover will slowly come undone. If a fool like Jake can pick up on this, then something—or someone smarter will eventually notice too. And when that happens, how do I explain that I’m not a hybrid but a dragon?’ Max thought, rubbing his temples in frustration.

"I’m right, aren’t I?" Jake asked with a raised brow, leaning slightly forward.

"Before I answer your question, I’ve got one of my own." Max said, suddenly shifting the direction of the conversation.

"Shoot." Jake leaned back in his chair, though his eyes stayed sharp and locked on Max.

"Back at the assessment, Hunter Elijah turned toward you and specifically requested to see you once everything was done. That was strange. He seemed to know who you are, and by the looks of it, you’re someone important."

So before I can fully trust you, I need to know who you a..."

"Simple. My dad is one of the kings." Jake said with a shrug, cutting Max off.

"Wait! What?!" Max shouted in shock as he glared at Jake. "Do I look like a kid? Who the hell are you lying to?"

"Thought that was what you wanted to hear." Jake chuckled loudly, standing up from his seat and staring down at Max. "I don’t know why you lied, or maybe those backing you up asked you to lie."

"Back me up?" Max asked, remembering the man in the slums who had said that many hybrids receive backing from gangs or corporations.

"Or aren’t you in a gang?" Jake asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Tch! Why would I be in one?" Max asked, brows knitting as he recalled his recent confrontation with the Gray Bulls Gang.

Jake studied Max’s face like he was trying to read a map. ’Hmm. Looks like he does not like gangs. That is bad. I see something special in him and I want him to be one of the first few.’ Jake thought, trying to justify his curiosity.

Max watched him closely, trying to decide whether to press the point. ’Hold on a moment. Was he really joking about his father being one of the kings? Is he serious or lying? It is hard to tell since he always jokes about everything.

Hybrids usually have backings. Who is backing him? A gang? A corporation? Or something else? He said he had been to a tier one city, so he might be wealthy or connected. I need to be careful.’ Max mused inwardly, glancing at Jake with suspicion.

"I know you said we cannot be best friends, but can we be casual friends?" Jake asked, stretching his hand forward. "I mean, we are literally sharing a room, so the least we can do is get along, right?"

Sigh.

Max exhaled and then accepted Jake’s hand.

"Fine by me, as long as you do not cross your boundaries. Otherwise, I am going to beat the shit out of you."

"Kek!" Jake laughed. "I really want to see you try."

They released hands. Jake rose to his feet and stretched, rolling his shoulders and arching his back like a cat waking from a nap.

"All right. Since we are not getting anywhere with this interrogation, can we go get something to eat? I am starving." Jake suggested.

"Fine by me." Max said. He slipped his shirt back on, adjusted the strap of his sword, and shoved his hands into his pockets. The two of them left the room together.