Chapter 34 "An Old Friend"

William realized that the voice was speaking directly to him because it was so audible and clear, which implies that the enemy was aware of its presence inside the containment room and had lost his cover.

But when William heard that voice, he had heard that voice before, which was hoarse and deep. It was so distinct because he didn't interact with many people while he was living in the Foundation.

"Come on now, don't be shy. I'm surprised as to why you were here, but I guess I should've known that the Foundation would make a decision like that."

He had no choice now because he was cornered and had nowhere to go, and attempting to flee from it would have only made the situation worse. Running outside the containment area would make them aware of Grace's position.

Standing up from behind the boxes, he sighed and began to raise both of his hands in the air. He then turned to face the person who had called him out. But when he realized who was calling him out, he was a little taken aback.

He had a rough appearance, looked to be in his late 30s, and had white hair. He was dressed in the orange jumpsuit that the D-Class would typically wear, and based on the situation, it appears that he was in control of the current situation.

The other two Chaos Insurgency members were wearing helmets, so William was unable to tell who they were; in contrast, the two Foundation employees who were crouching on the ground were wearing bags that covered their faces.

As he stood up and there seemed to be a gun strapped over his body, the two Chaos Insurgency members started pointing their guns at him, seemingly keeping an eye for him not to make a move.

"Whoa, calm down there, guys. He had surrendered himself. No need to be so aggressive to our friend here." The man in the orange jumpsuit swayed his hand, commanding them to holster their guns.

He then laughed for a moment and said, "What a peculiar situation we are in, no hard feelings. What do you say, William?"

"No words. But I'm surprised that you joined them even at this moment. I thought you were just a random person that shared the same fate as mine, Keith." answered William as he darted his eyes towards him.

"Oh no. You misunderstood me for a moment." Keith holstered his gun to his pocket, "You couldn't say that I joined them If I were already one of them from the beginning."

Just as he guessed it, Keith was one of the Chaos Insurgency members. He didn't seem to be worried at all, and William still looked at him sinisterly that someone that he thought to be his cellmate was an enemy.

"Drop your weapon and throw it away with your feet." said one of the Chaos Insurgency members that were pointing his gun toward William.

He didn't have any other choice but to comply. He dropped his gun to the ground and kicked it with his few. It flew a few meters from his position, and now he doesn't have anything to help him later on.

Keith pondered, "So why are you here? Pretty interesting for you to be in this place, unless you are here for something too?"

William didn't even answer his question, and he just stood there silently looking at Keith as he walked back and forth in the containment room. He then glanced at William and pointed up his finger.

"No need to answer that. I already knew why you're here." Keith then pointed his finger to the walkie-talkie that was in his pocket. "The Foundation sent you here to stop us, did they?"

"I don't know, maybe you're right, but you could also be wrong about it." answered William coldly.

Keith laughed for a moment and then continued, "Don't be like that, William. We're buddies. But I already knew from the day you were transferred to another room and didn't come back."

He picked up a device that was on top of the boxes that were lying around in the room, "Why do you think your containment room door was opened that time?"

When William heard this, he immediately thought back to an incident that had occurred in his room earlier. When the Chaos Insurgency began to invade the area during the blackout, the door automatically opened.

But judging from the appearance, he didn't think it was just a mistake. That wasn't just a coincidence or a deliberate system error; Keith most likely arranged for it to happen so he could leave his room. Yet why?

Keith then continued, "I thought back then when we're having our thoughts poured out that night, we came to an agreement about the Foundation. That we disliked living in this place and wanted to get out of here to live our life."

He dropped the device again on the box and looked at William, "What happened? How come you decided to live and enjoy your daily lives in the Foundation, while being locked up in your own room?"

"If I were still a D-Class, yeah. No right person in their mind would spend the rest of their lives in that situation. But I got a second chance. That was good enough for me to continue my life." replied William

"And by second chance, you mean, being their lapdog?" Keith said to William in a mocking tone.

His provocation didn't move William. He knew that Keith was trying to lure him into the trap. He needs to be careful of his words to keep the situation as cool as possible.

"Not like that. If I'm their lapdog, then you're no different than I am, working for them and fulfilling their needs by doing a dirty job like this." William still looked at him coldly.

Keith shook his head, "You're wrong. We do what we want to do if it coincides with our goal. You should join us, and you'll be a free man, do whatever you want without anyone stopping you or restricting your action, unlike those guys."

After Keith said this, Grace burst through the door and started to shoot the two Chaos Insurgency members on their heads with her Glock. The shot went through their head, leaving only Keith in the room.

Just as she was about to point her gun toward Keith's head, she couldn't find him at all. Only the two Foundation personnel were kneeling, and William was still with his hand raised to the air.

A few seconds later, she heard a voice behind her, "It's rude to cut someone off while they are talking about something."

Keith arrived on Grace's back out of nowhere, striking her in the nape in an attempt to put her to sleep. She sank to the ground senseless. William failed to see that Keith had moved from his initial position because everything was happening quickly.

"Didn't know that you brought your friend here. I'll just make it really quick for now."

Without wasting any more time, Keith started to walk his way out to the two Foundation employees that had been kneeling the whole time. He removed the bag that was put on one of the guard's head, and it surprised William.

Owen can be seen from a distance. His face was severely beaten up with blood covering all over his face. It seemed that he had taken a few blows from them before, and his face was a bit desperate.

William heard Owen saying something to him in a low voice, "William, please help me..."