12 The Forbidden Zone (4)

Although Daniel might have looked calm on the surface during the entire time the commander was conversing with Minerva while driving away from the crash site, his mind was actually in complete turmoil. It wasn't until Eric had stopped his car and asked him and Dr. James to switch vehicles did he manage to put back on the act of being concerned for his 'uncle' while also probing some information from the doctor about the adamantine currently being researched by scientists within the temporary lab.

Flashing back to a few minutes ago, as Commander Eric started swerving away from the crash site…

"F*ck! F*ck! F*ck! I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die!" Daniel frantically screamed within his mind to no particular person as he stared at his feet while sitting in the brace position. He was panicked to the point where he did not feel the strong resonance within his body that occurred from the explosion before and still could be felt as they sped away from the crash site.

[Calm down, Master! A strong resonance have been detected! It is highly likely that another 'awakened' is within the vicinity. From the looks of it, he might have been the one to cause the explosion earlier.]

The system tried to equip a caring, motherly voice to soothe Daniel's mind. However, when Daniel heard that there might be another 'awakened' person nearby, he instantly went to a panic again, completely wasting the system's previous hard work.

"An awakened?! And one that can cause such a large explosion as well?! I'm totally dead! Someone please safe me!"

Since Daniel wasn't thinking straight at that point in time, he did not even realize or feel suspicious about the lack of activity by the other party after he 'attacked' the vehicle just now. If he did, he would have figured out, from his own experience, that his opponent might not be able to use his skills a second time due to the timeout period set by the systems on the usage of their supernatural abilities.

"It's not fair! How did that douchebag get such an OP skill while I can barely even move a f**king pencil! System? Are you cheating on me?!" Daniel continued to shout within his mind, trying to blame the entire situation upon the system even though it had nothing to do with the perpetrator.

[You're mistaken, Master. Unless the other 'awakened' person have somehow absorbed more than 1/8 of the total fragments within the meteorite, he would have the same starting point as you, since the successful manipulation and application of soul energy depends on the host's constant practice and hard work.

Just like how, no matter how talented a person is, he/she wouldn't be able to become an expert sword user the second he chanced upon the weapon, the same can be said about wielding soul energy.]

"Then how can you explain the gigantic explosion that the person have just created?!" Daniel retorted as loud as he could within his mind while still trying his best to calm himself down.

[The person's skill itself wasn't the cause of such a large explosion but the application of the skill was. From what I gathered by reading your memories of what happened just now, there were no external catalyst that caused the explosion within the truck at the very front of the convoy. Instead, it seemed to have come from within.

Based on my understanding of vehicles in your world, the source of the explosion seemed to have come from the fuel tank of the truck. Let's say for example that our opponent have a skill that can energize the molecules within a certain area to a certain point, if he/she were to directly target the petroleum within the fuel tank, then an increase in heat would serve as a spark that can ignite the entire tank, causing a chain reaction that resulted with what had happened earlier to the truck.]

"That's still kind of ridiculous!" Daniel still did not fully believe in what the system was saying as the other had bullsh*tted his way out of a conversation too many times already.

[It really isn't, Master. In certain circumstances, you would be able to achieve what the other 'awakened' person have done as well. For example, let's say that the Secretary-General of the Federation currently have his hand on the button that will release all nuclear weapons upon the Earth. If you were standing next to him, a simple push using your ability upon the secretary's hand would allow for the other to press the button, causing a nuclear holocaust in mere minutes.]

"What a ridiculous situation! As if I would somehow miraculously appear before the Secretary-General just as he was about to make the most important decision of his life." Daniel snorted. "However, now that you explain it like that, I think I get it…"

[Good! Now why don't Master make good use of this opportunity while the opponent's ability is in cooldown and kill him off? You'll get tons of EXPs afterward!]

"You know, you really like to spout out some crazy sh*t sometimes." Daniel mentally rolled his eyes at the system. "I'm just a normal teenager with no combat experience, do you think I can fight against a potential fully armed opponent that might also be a Martian spy?"

[How do you know that the other 'awakened' is a Martian spy?]

Since the system had come from outer space, even after going through Daniel's memories, it wouldn't be as familiar as the geopolitical situation within the solar system as the latter, who spent most his life on Earth.

"Simple." Daniel replied mentally. "Every Federation citizen have a nano-chip inserted inside their heads from birth. Minerva can track every nano-chip and would instantly recognize when a citizen so much as walk a millimetre within the quarantine zone without permission."

"To be able to stay hidden so long well within the quarantine zone means that the person is either an unregistered alien or a Martian spy. Do you see the holographic image that Minerva have pulled up in front of us?"

Daniel moved his head slightly towards the direction of the front, allowing for his field of vision to land on the part of the windshield where Minerva is currently displaying the live satellite image of their area to Commander Eric.

"The tiny dot on the bottom right corner of the live feed should be the perpetrator of the earlier attack. You can see that he's currently on the roof, equipped with a jetpack and running towards the edge of the quarantine zone." Daniel continued to explain within his mind.

"Only a person with experience and inside information could make such a precise attack on our convoy before leaving instantly. Adding on to the fact that a jetpack is a military equipment forbidden for civilian use, and the lack of signal from said person, the only possibility is that our 'awakened' comrade is a spy for the Martian Empire."

[Brilliant deduction, Master! I really didn't choose wrong when I decided to bind with your soul!]

System made an exaggerated gasp of admiration as it tried to suck up to Daniel, which simply led the other to snort again when faced with the former's shamelessness.

"So do you understand why it would be suicide to try and kill that person now?" Daniel asked with an unimpressed tone within his mind.

[Yes, Master. I understand.]

System sounded a little gloomy and disappointed, obviously quite sad that he wouldn't get to absorb the huge chunk of itself that's lodged inside the other 'awakened' person, waiting for it to consume. Daniel, however, is simply content with completing the easiest mission out of the three tasks given by the Assassin System. He doesn't wanna get in any more trouble.

The banter with the system seemed to have been a positive form of distraction for Daniel as by the time he finished conversing with it, he found that he had already calmed himself down for the most part. Therefore, he had no problems putting on the concerned act for his uncle before leaving with the doctor to the temporary laboratory.

Unlike the 'exciting' journey he had earlier with the commander, Daniel's current vehicle is running at a speed of 80km/h since the perceived threat is gone. However, Dr. James' face still looked quite pale as he seemed to have gotten motion sick from the constant swerving earlier while Eric was driving. Luckily, he managed to contain himself from barfing after his mind have finally stabilized.

After the vehicle made a few turns, cruising closer and closer towards the center of the impact zone, Daniel found more and more debris on the side of the road. They seemed to have been cleared to the side by the military earlier to allow for vehicles to go in and out without any problems.

It was also at this time that one of the soldiers seated at the front said, "Gentlemen, we've arrived at our destination. The temporary laboratory is just in front of us!"

However, just as the truck began slowing down, Daniel could see a sudden flash, instantly blinding everyone within the truck. Before anyone realized what had happened, a gigantic 'boom' sound followed! The consequent wave was so great that the truck was instantly flipped upside down!