Mystery of the missing supplies

"So, what do you think? Can you help this sister out? I promise I'll not tell anyone else that you have information! ~pout,"

Beatrice's sweet idol-like voice would have melted anyone else, but not the "Sakht Launda" Vermont.

"huh? Help you? With what? Di, don't you see I'm barely alive in this heat?"

Vermont shrugged his shoulder as he dropped his best weak-guy performance in two lives. He wasn't lying either. He knew little about rave dimension.

"... Unlike you, I'm not even a biohacker. I've lost a kilo already due to all the sweat!!" He made a sad puppy face.

Not lacking in looks compartment, his pitiable, weak expression had an exaggerated effect. His clear black eyes, silky brown hair tied in a man bun, and pink lips on a warm beige face were all signs of a confident and handsome youth.

However, when he slanted his eyebrows and curved his lips down, his sad expression was inordinately lethal.

Beatrice's presence came as a surprise, but he already had a guess why he didn't know about her participation in Hell's kitchen.

Japanese and Indian governments were close allies. To hide each other's involvement in certain matters was an unambiguous matter. Especially when the request involved the daughter of one of the 5 General-Rank powerhouses of Japan.

Knowing full well of her background and future, Vermont didn't want to attract the future Eye Of Providence's attention; but he was aware of her unrelenting character.

'I'm weak and not of your use. Now leave.' He murmured in his head.

Unfortunately for him, however, her thoughts differed widely. 'So what if you are immune to my charms?'

Vermont's acting annoyed her, but she still pouted cutely to hide her true feelings. Making a pleading face with big watery eyes, she pleaded in a cute voice.

"Humph! Don't fool me, little brother. I know you are hiding something. Come on, help me. ~pleezz."

Neither of them, one 15 and another 19, were showing their true colours. It was a mind game that could go on indefinitely. But.

"I TOLD YOU, I KNOW NOTHING-!!" Vermont had another trick up his sleeve. The Karen attack.

Beatrice was shocked, she wasn't expecting that he would suddenly explode. Especially given Vermont's calm spirit she had been observing since last night.

"Stop pestering me with that ugly, uneven face of yours. You masochist. Making unreasonable demands when I told you already."

CRASH-!!! Her pride shattering into a million pieces.

People had called her many things, but ugly was not one of them. Vermont wasn't playing the long game with her. He wanted to get rid of her at the earliest.

'huh-! conning the con man? You are too green for that.' He thought.

"You can only bully unawakened(s) like me. Go away, I have nothing to say to a Spooner!"

With a boiling face, Vermont stared back, defiantly.

Although both of them were similar in height. It looked like a David vs Goliath confrontation because of the difference in their respective strength.

"YOU-! HOW DARE YOU-!!"

Beatrice was fuming with anger. To call her Spooner was a direct insult to her military upbringing. Spooner was a demeaning term used for people of superior background born with a silver spoon.

Vermont's emotional outburst and allegations moved the crowd in his favor, and he gained their sympathy. After all, most of them were Feeders - another demeaning term for people of lower-birth.

They knew first-hand of the frustration and humiliation of being weak and how the Spooner(s) mistreated them. However, although they sympathised with him, none moved to defend him against Beatrice. In the end, people only moved when it was in their interest.

And right now, their interest was in not angering the only Lieutenant-rank biohacker. They hated Spooners, but they wouldn't wantonly mess with a Lieutenant-rank powerhouse for an insignificant ant like Vermont. They were weak, not stupid.

Some even snickered at Vermont and enjoyed his fake misery.

'Why make an enemy of a powerhouse? Just quietly take a beating, rather than make a scene.' They thought.

Being a space pirate and an outcast for a long time, he was aware of the indifference of common people. From the beginning, his only aim was to discredit Beatrice and not gain support for himself.

Beatrice was cunning and shrewd, but had an upright character with natural leadership qualities. For someone brought up in the military like her, the only merit she judged people with was courage, strength, and camaraderie.

Vermont knew it all because he quite liked the future "Eye of Providence". Although, after his escape, he was never on Earth. He still monitored the development of Earth.

'This is also a lesson for you.' He thought.

**

'Did I make a mistake? He does look like he is dying?'

She played with the idea in her head. Being looked at by all the participants with hateful looks, she doubted herself.

She hadn't realized that participants' gaze changed because they were now associating her with the identity of a Spooner.

Beatrice was smart, analytical, and very tactical. However, she didn't understand people's nature. Once an idea entered people's mind, it was hard for them to not think about it.

Vermont's allegations and outburst had done its work when he saw her resolve weakening.

'No-! I know he is hiding something.' Conflicted, she didn't want to let go of the matter.

Then, her eyes fell on the duffle bag next to Vermont.

"~Hah. You almost had me with your act."

She beamed with confidence as her stature grew taller by a centimeter.

"Don't lie to me, little brother. You seem overly prepared for an unknowing weakling who just randomly stumbled upon a seed dimension."

She dropped the little-sister facade and questioned him point-blank. Exuding the signature Urja of a Lieutenant-rank biohacker, her voice carried the weight of authority that was tough to overlook.

[Urja ~ Energy/Aura]

Biohackers were divided into seven military ranks according to their strength: Cadet, Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Colonel, Lieutenant General, and General. And Beatrice was a bona fide 2★ Lieutenant.

Vermont couldn't see the Urja around her body as he was still unawakened, but he could feel her strength through the pores of his skin. It was a natural suppression against a stronger opponent. His body reacted to her strength, and he took a step back as if a mortal was facing divinity.

"I wanted to discuss privately with you, but as you wish."

"~shrug. Do you mind explaining why you are the only one with supplies amongst hundreds of people here?"

- Oh, he has a duffle bag with him? He probably has food and water in there, right?

- That is indeed suspicious.

- Could that girl be right? Doesn't he look like he came here prepared?

- Look at his clothes. Shouldn't he be wearing prison clothes like us?

- If he knows something, then we should get him to speak.

- Maybe he got some clue after arriving earlier than us?

- Yeah, isn't this world like a game? Maybe he received a quest from the GM!

Nobody took the last guy seriously. However, whispers were getting louder.

Vermont wasn't bothered. He knew he was sticking out like a sore thumb in that group. He had already planned all of this in his head, even before entering the rave.

"Huh! So your aim was my supplies from the beginning? I should have known a Spooner can only think about themselves even in this f*cked up situation!"

Shifting the focus of debate towards Beatrice's character, Vermont continued his act.

It was to make his plans easier. After all, if Beatrice used her identity to establish rapport, it would be hard for him to manipulate the crowd later down the line.

"What-? No-"

Vermont didn't let her finish her sentence. He threw the duffle bag in her direction with an angered expression.

His natural acting made it seem like he had been cornered and given up. Troubled by how the conversation had shifted to her character, she thought of a rebuttal. But it was unnecessary now. She had won.

Quickly catching the empty duffle bag, a rush of victory moved through her body.

"huh? Empty?"

She weighed the feather-light duffle bag and was dumbfounded, but then she heard Vermont continue his speech.

"Despite being able to go hungry for a week and have the strength to fight 100s of unawakened like me, a biohacker still eyed my mere possessions. Even for a Spooner, you really are a cut above the rest of them."

"No! That was not my intent-"

"But unlucky for you, none of the supplies I brought with me survived. Everything in my bag disappeared as soon as I landed here. The only thing in my possession is that empty bag and a burnt blanket. Please take them too, that's all your kind know, anyway!"

Although Vermont was faking it, there was also a hint of genuine anger in his voice. He also had a knife, and a baton hidden under his shirt, pressed by the elastic of his trunks, but they didn't need to know that.

His expression and defeated tone worked like a charm as more and more people now looked at Beatrice like a villain.

"... Hope you are happy now. I see that you have an AURA ring too. Looks like an Axiom 3 by my guess. Quickly keep the bag inside in your 3 meters of cubic space lest somebody else eyes what you have."

"... After all, they say that Karma really is a B*tch, just like you."

"YOU-"

Beatrice felt a tight slap on her face. She only wanted to pry into Vermont's secret, not expose her own.

'how did he know about the Axiom Watch?', her doubts raised as she thought of the implication this information had.

'... wait? did he already know about the watch since the beginning and is only bringing out now because?'

Before she could finish her thoughts, a frenzy went through the crowd.

Alarmed by Vermont's reasons, everybody frantically checked their belongings, but then came another wave of shock.

"OH NO!! MY PROTEIN BARS"

"SHIT, WHERE ARE MY BUISCUITS?"

"WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WATER BOTTLE THAT WAS IN MY HAND?"

"EVEN MY GUN HAS DISAPPEARED-??"

"SH*T-!! MY VERSACE PURSE"

Even Beatrice was no different. She quickly checked and found that the mini purse with its content had all but disappeared.

But then another quirk about their situation hit her, her smart ring connected to her bloodstream on her fingers was still there, but her phone had disappeared with the purse.

She scanned the contents of her Aura ring and was relieved to know that all her belongings were still there.

She would have known this already, but because of the chaos, she hadn't checked her supplies until now.

She glanced at the crowd and saw their prying eyes glaring at her with greed.

She now understood what Vermont had done. He had led her, a lone sheep, to the pack of wolves and left her faith to be decided by them.

Then, abruptly, she heard a whisper from behind her back.

'son of a bitch!!'

She turned to face Vermont, but he had already sprinted hundreds of meters away.