At Noah's House

After passing through the entrance of the South Zone, both continued walking until they reached Noah's apartment, and at the moment they entered, both let out a sigh of relief.

"Man...I thought I was busted." Said Jay, visibly relieved.

Although they had passed through District 31 successfully, Jay still clearly remembered how the rank (C) super had been watching him closely, making him feel nervous, and when he got up from his seat, Jay's heart skipped a beat.

Fortunately, he managed to keep his cool, and with Noah entering the scene, the super calmed his suspicions and sat down again.

"...I'll charge you extra for that." Added Noah, a few drops of sweat visible on his face.

While it was true that Jay had taken most of the pressure, Noah had been incredibly nervous because he was risking that if Jay was discovered, he would definitely be treated as an accomplice and would have nowhere to run!

""Haa.."" Both sighed.

One thing was for sure... it had been a very tense moment for both of them.

Faced with Noah's response, Jay just put a sour smile, he already expected Noah to charge him extra for it.

"Well, make yourself comfortable, I guess." Noah added, already calmer.

"Thanks."

After that, Jay looked at Noah's apartment, after passing through the entrance, there was a large room that functioned as a living room on the right side and kitchen at the left, on the left side there was a small hallway with 2 doors that led to what Jay assumed was the bedroom and the bathroom.

The apartment looked much better than Jay expected, but since it was not really important, he did not pay much attention to it.

"Would you like something to drink?"

"Oh, if you're offering, then a can of soda, please."

Noah then went to his refrigerator for 2 cans of soda, giving one to Jay before sitting on another couch and taking his own, because he liked to save, Noah only allowed himself one luxury, which was to drink soda occasionally.

"Thank you," he said.

"That's five credits."

"...But they cost 2 credits."

"That's right.

Noah didn't even try to debate Jay and simply continued to drink his can of soda, although from his attitude...it was clear that the price he stated would remain the same.

Obviously he hadn't offered Jay a drink just as a courtesy, he also planned to get some money out of it.

"Ha...well, never mind, I'll pay you later, now then, you told me you don't know where Colt lives?"

A little afraid that Noah would continue to charge him for other things, Jay quickly changed the subject.

"Yes, but don't worry, after some more research I was able to find a person who will be the solution to our problem." Noah replied.

He then turned on his smart watch and opened a map of the South Zone similar to the one Jay had, but with the difference that this seemed much more detailed.

Noah then began zooming in on the map, specifically in District 30, until he came to an average looking 3-story house which had a staircase connecting the first, second and third floors.

"According to what I have researched, this house is the home of 3 guardians of the Southern Zone."

After hearing that, Jay gave Noah a strange look, as if to say 'I know you think I'm strong, but this is too much!'

Jay was right, after all, the only way he could defeat Taylor and Colt was through a surprise attack and questionable methods respectively, so if he had to face 3 guardians at the same time, he would definitely lose.

But almost as if he had read his thoughts, Noah said, "While this is the home of 3 guardians, you must remember that the guardians work mostly at night...except for those who are resting."

After some thought, Jay understood who Noah was talking about and what he meant by that.

"I see, so of the 3 guardians, only 1 is at home when it's night...and I guess that's the one that knows Colt's location?"

"Exactly, and I'm sure he knows where he lives, but I don't think the best option is to force him to tell you that." Noah replied.

"Yes, I think it would be better to avoid that as well."

Although the first thing that occurred to Jay was to go to the house, immobilize the remaining guard and force him to tell him where Colt lives, he quickly discarted the idea because it was much harder to do than it seemed.

While a surprise attack might work in that situation because no one expects to be attacked in his own home, the best Jay could do would be to knock him out.

However, this situation would require having the guardian immobilized but conscious...and Jay was not at all confident that he could accomplish something like that.

"The real target is his smart watch, I'm sure he has Colt among his contacts, finding his location after that will be easy."

Seeing the confidence Noah had, Jay couldn't help but be somewhat surprised at how capable Noah was.

"By the way, I think I know who is the guard that is resting, but just to be sure...is Taylor, right?"

Jay didn't know much about the South Zone guards and how often did they rest, but after Noah said that of the three guards, two were working and one was resting, Jay figured that the guard had a very good reason for that...like recovering from a beating.

"Yeah, you guessed right, after not seeing him for a while, I asked some people and found out that he hadn't been moved to another district, he was resting, but the best proof is this, look."

After saying that, Noah closed the holographic map of his smart watch and opened another application which had a panda logo on it, the application was called Palu and was a pretty popular social network.

"Don't tell me he..." Jay said when he saw what Noah was doing.

"Yep."

Right after saying that, Taylor's profile appeared on the holographic screen of Noah's smart watch, in his profile there was a recent publication from a few hours ago, the publication showed a television, which was tuned in to an action movie.

At the top of the post were the following words, "Day off~".

The post had 3 reactions.

"How...convenient." Said Jay.

"It is, oh, by the way, can I come with you when you go get the smart watch?"

"...What?"

This question took Jay by surprise, he didn't expect Noah to want to do something risky like this.

Anyway, Jay was thinking of rejecting his request because it was easier to move around by himself, but when Noah saw that Jay seemed to want to say no, he said something that instantly made Jay change his mind.

"I'll give you 30% off of the final price of my services."

"...Deal."

The two then shook hands with a businesslike smile.

'It's going to be a little harder to move with him along...but for now I have to save as much as I can.' Jay thought, happy that he could save several credits. 'Plus, with the plan I have in mind, he won't be in danger...I think...'

"Now, if you're going to go...then we need a costume for you."

Jay got up and opened his backpack, which was not filled with books, but with the clothes he used to come to the South Zone, the clothes inside the backpack were tidy and folded so that they did not protrude from the backpack.

"Well, I call it a costume but it's really just a pair of sweatpants, a sweatshirt, and something to cover your face and hands." Said Jay as he took the clothes out of his backpack to show it to Noah.

"I have everything except for the bandages to cover my face." Noah replied as he looked at Jay's "costume."

"Hmm...we'll have to improvise then, get me a shirt you don't wear and some scissors."

Noah headed down the small hallway and opened one of the doors, entering his room.

"If you have a bat or something to attack, bring it too, it will be necessary." Jay added, raising his voice a bit.

That way, both of them began to prepare to go out that night.

***

Several hours later, when the sun had already set and the only people on the streets of the South Zone were the guards, a man was sitting on a bench in a small park while smoking a cigarette.

"...F*ck, it still hurts." He said with a bitter expression as he ignored the slight but constant pain he was feeling.

Both his arms and face looked much better than the day Jay beat him, but he could still feel the pain.

His mood was somewhat sour because even though the boss had given him a few days off and he had been resting all day, he could not relax at all because of his sore arms and face...and for other reasons too.

He had been in this park since 8 pm watching some videos on his smart watch to pass the time, but at this moment, he saw that it was already 11:14 pm.

"...It's late, I guess I'd better get back..."

After saying that, he threw the cigarette on the ground and started walking towards his house.

A few minutes later, Taylor arrived at his house.

He was standing in front of the house, alone, looking at the dark three-story building, this was a normal sight to him, however, at the next moment, he suddenly felt a chill run down his back, as if his senses were telling him something.

"The hell...?"

The little light that the streetlights in the vicinity provided were a gift to him, but for some reason, today, Taylor felt the light was much dimmer than normal, causing some thick shadows to form near the house, especially in the back of the house, where there was only darkness as the light from the streetlights didn't reach that far.

"...Whatever, must be my imagination." But despite feeling that something was wrong, Taylor ignored that feeling and went upstairs.

Then, a few seconds later, without Taylor knowing it...two silhouettes moved silently through the shadows of the backyard, in the direction of the stairs.