1.17.2 Nikoli the Dwarf.

FIX was dragged towards the unknown.

Or so she would have thought, if not for the drone that kept watch over everything while maintaining the connection to the android that walked beside Lev.

FIX knew where she was and what was going on. With her rank and mechanical capabilities, her crafts were advanced enough to hide from the normal airspace detection methods, but as with all technologies, there were limits to her range and the places where her drone can hover.

Places, where the signals don't reach.

"Real name Lev?"

"Yes, it's the name my mother gave me."

"What about your father?"

"Please move, this is not the time to take my interview."

"From what I understand, this is the only time I can take your interview."

Lev was confused by FIXs words. But he didn't say anything else and dragged FIX toward his boss's hideout. "If possible, just agree to his request. Boss is very sensible." Lev said in his emotionless tone. But one sees from his expression that even he didn't believe his own words.

Neither did FIX believed his words.

And soon, they came close to a nightclub, which was closed as the sun was still shining as much as it could in Russia.

"Let me ask you one last time… are you truly StarHusky?"

"..."

"Yes."

And with those words, when FIX was dragged into the building. Her droid fell to the floor like a puppet.

Confusing the people that surrounded her, moreso, Lev.

"He is dead."

Lev said, after checking FIX's body. But when he tried lifting it up, he found it a bit too heavy.

Which confused him.

Lev had been dealing with dead bodies since he was just 12 and on the run with his father.

He even helped his father during some hits when the money was tight, hence experiencing countless deaths and what it feels to pull up a body, its weight and the warmth and the coldness of death.

It was why, the moment he had some suspicions, he took out his gun and before his men could stop him, he shot at FIX's hand.

But there was no blood… there was nothing at all, beside a hole which felt dry and dead.

"It's a fake." He said, before ordering the men around him. "A machine is more like, which means, it's dangerous. Move it away to an isolated area." Lev said before shooting the head of FIX a bunch of times to confirm his suspicions and prevent it from waking up in case when FIX moves away from the dead zone which was this night club.

Yes, the whole night club was covered with a signal jammer in preparation for the arrival of FIX.

And it was all Lev's suggestion after he got ordered by his boss to capture FIX.

He might not belong to the world of superheroes and hunters. But Lev was master at killing as much as he was a computer Wiz.

A true monstrous genius that can think multiple steps ahead when it comes to his expertise and the methods to kill his targets.

There was a reason why Lev was able to hunt a total of three Purple Star hunters, while just being a normal human. He learns about his prey, learns their patterns and creates multiple opportunities to take them down when its needed.

He also understood how to keep your emotions and desire for information in check, because over enthusiasm can also be the very thing which would cause others to be suspicious of you.

And considering that the most he knew about FIX was that he was a technomancer, he chose the most simple plan of putting a signal jammer at the meeting place.

"Sir, we failed." After taking some pics of the dead robot body to his boss, Lev confessed with a downtrodden face.

In front of him stood a short old man in a red suit and a twirling mustache. But no one would dare to look down on this short man. In the underworld he was famous as the Blood Hand Killer in his youth, but when he got older, he chose a much more simple name, Nikoli.

But unlike what many thought of him, Nikoli was not a stupid man. No, for someone that went from being a hitman to becoming a cadre of a famous Mafia gang, he can be considered very smart.

So, the moment Lev gave his excuse, Nikoli asked. "Did you fail or did you let him get away?"

"No sir, how would I dare to do that. The machine was too realistic." Lev gave an excuse with a straight face, showing no emotion on his face even while being questioned.

"Little Lev, did the machine breathe?"

At these questions, Lev shut up and looked at Nikoli.

"Did its chest heave up and down?"

"Did it show the red glow of the cold on his cheeks?"

"Did it smell bad?"

There were various words leaving Nikoli's mouth, but each time he said it, Lev's emotionless face scrunched up a bit.

"For a young man like you… I don't believe you never noticed a single sign like that. Or did you feel guilt towards him?" The short Nikoli walked closer to Lev with each of his words and looked deeply in his eyes.

But the closer Nikoli got to Lev, the shorter Lev felt when facing Nikoli.

Causing him to back up a bit in fear.

"No, no you are not like that. With the training from my friend, you would still notice all of this, but you chose to act ignorant."

"Which makes me disappointed in you young man." Nikoli shook his head, showing his disappointment in Lev.

"Here I am doing my best to help you. But you are not even reciprocating my intentions at all."

And with those words, the emotionless face of Lev broke down and he put his head down in shame, not daring to look directly into the eyes of Nikoli.

"Go for now, but leave your laptop. I would talk with this FIX person online, just like you young people."

With those words, he let Lev leave the scene. But not before one of his guards brought Lev's laptop without even his consent.

Since the day he was found out, he had long lost his privacy and the ownership of his own laptop.

The most he can do is talk with people who intended to give him so much.

******

Luvi felt apologetic toward FIX for losing such a precious android. But he had no power or any influence to help her. So the most he can do is pay for the android when he earns enough money through his future operations.

But for now, he was practicing his instincts.

He was born a wastrel and had rarely moved his body or did any physical activity till receiving the gift.

Which made his instincts and ability to react to any stimuli a lot lower than many people around him. Not to mention, someone like Andy, who had honed his instincts through constant hard work for a greater future.

But Luvi was not like that.

He intends to cheat using the Feline Senses Auxiliary technique.

There were multiple reasons he chose this. But the main one was that no one would ever notice him use it. Because it was a sensing technique that enhanced various senses on his body to the same level as that of a cat.

And cats are very sharp animals.

Which would give Luvi an edge during the tournament and even real fights. It might be the only thing that would help his body adapt to real combat. And also the only way to become a white star hunter.

"He went away, again." Luvi said in disappointment while seeing the lock on Andy's door. But this was to be expected after his sudden increase in popularity.

But Luvi knew that Andy was not going out to bask in his popularity and become part of the popular kids. Instead, he was still at the academy, training non-stop even during the weekends.

A habit brought on by the increase in expectations and chance for unstoppable growth as long as he doesn't stop his training due to the training manuals.

So, none were to blame for this, other than Luvi.

'Guess, I have to go out alone this time.'

Luvi was a bit sad to do this. He didn't like going out alone anymore since some recent incidents and he knew that trouble would soon follow.

But for his training, he needs a place with higher activity, but also a place where none will disturb him.

Of which, the latter can only be achieved through the help of Andy, which can act as his shield.

'Chances, I need to take them if I wish to become stronger.'

So, even though he didn't like it. To train his instincts and reactivity. He chose to leave his room after a long while and moved toward the park.

It was noon and the chance of finding others under the sunny sun would be low. Which also decreases the chance of meeting the bad elements that Luvi doesn't wish to meet as he was not in the mood to play with these people.

So what if he has to sweat a little?

There is always some mango ice cream to help him go through the trouble.