Chapter 29: Afterthoughts

Fourth Institute.

"Yes. We are investigating—"

"Someone must be held accountable. I'm not talking about the small fries. You know it."

"Yes, ma'am. We will give you an update—"

Beep-!

Mei ended the call. She was talking to the secretary of Fire MOTH's commander-in-chief.

The ambush Aleph experienced was, in no doubt, an inside job. Not to mention the orbital satellites of the organization, just the radars and control towers supervising air control should've detected the Hind Chopper headed to Aleph's route.

It was simply impossible for an outsider to play with Fire MOTH like that.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

The people around her did not look at her.

"Doctor Mei seems angry."

"Who wouldn't be angry after that?"

"It's a good point."

Twelve hours had passed since the ambush. Nearly everyone within Fire MOTH knew how Aleph's team got ambushed by an unknown armed group. More than seventy people died out of the original hundred or so convoy.

What's more shocking was how Aleph dealt with the situation. The preliminary report submitted to the higher-ups mentioned how he single-handedly dealt with the armed group.

When this report was passed, it was inevitably leaked, resulting in most people within Fire MOTH to know more about the third institute's terrifying assistant director.

Ring-!

Mei was awakened by her phone's ringtone. A familiar contact appeared on her screen.

Upon answering it, she went straight to the point.

"What's the matter, Doctor Mobius?"

"I can't reach him. Give me his other contact number."

Hearing Mobius' commanding tone over the phone, Mei fell silent.

It wasn't her first time talking with Mobius. Only, the situation now made her extremely angry.

Moreover…

'Within a month, you think you could…'

"What was it? I can pass it to him." Mei asked.

This time, it was Mobius' turn to counterattack.

"Hm? There are things better said directly to him." She replied. "It's all about the origin of that armed group. Well?"

"..."

In the end, Mei chose not to be petty. She honestly dished out Aleph's backup number as his phone was destroyed during the fight.

When the call was over, a newfound realization struck her.

"Am I overthinking about it or..?"

*****

"How was it?"

The always calm Einstein approached Aleph inside the infirmary.

"They're good enough. Oh, before I forget about it…"

He told her about the three unknown men who came from the Hind Chopper. He was detailed enough with the information he got through his [Danger Sense].

"Their strength is on-par with Sakura."

"Sakura? The one from that group?"

"Yes."

"It's complicated."

The interests vested within Cocoon were related to more than half of the twenty-six Fire MOTH councilors. 

Cocoon was a place that trains 'shadows', something extremely attractive for all the councilors with hidden filth. Be it their private investment or something else, delving into the Cocoon will agitate more than half of Fire MOTH's higher-ups.

"I believe it's not just a select few. This should be a test from them. They're trying to test my depth."

Aleph's case was different from Elysia's. The latter's aura made it so that most hostilities disappeared the moment they thought of her.

On the off chance she could be finished off, she was strong enough to withstand their assassination attacks. The assassination attempts ended in that manner.

As for Aleph, there are some who believed that he wasn't as strong as Elysia—that they should nip the danger in the bud.

Unfortunately, it resulted in failure. Nevertheless, for them, it meant close to nothing.

"You are working with Mobius, no? If—"

Beep-!

The phone in Aleph's pocket vibrated. He took it out and saw an unfamiliar number on it.

"Go on."

Hearing Einstein's approval, Aleph answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"It sounds like you're fine."

The usual cynical tone resounded from the other side.

"I'm alright. It wasn't that dangerous for me. Why the call?"

Instead of answering his query, she asked another question.

"Are you familiar with that girl from the second institute?"

"What about her?"

"I got her to look at some things. Do you want to know about it?"

"Mn."

"You'll only have to work with me for two more days every month."

Mobius put forth a condition. She thought that Aleph might bring that requirement down by a notch.

"Sure."

"If you—ah?"

"Seven days, right? I'll do it."

"..."

Once again, she was caught off guard.

It took a few seconds before she started speaking.

"There are intercepted signals in your route. It came from…"

The second institute prodigy, Vill-V, is a god when it comes to hacking. She managed to trace unbranded signals from his route. One of the calls connected to a member of the convoy. His presence was the reason why they managed to catch a detailed itinerary of his.

The Hind Chopper was tracked down as well. Although it was unbranded—created on a private factory of sorts—its origins was traced to a private airport in the corner of the Mu Continent.

Its owner as well as the several layers of people who owned the airport were all small fries.

Unfortunately for them, it was Vill-V.

After hours of working, their origin was traced to three Fire MOTH councilors:

Percy Ward, CEO and owner of the top thirteen of the "500 Companies" throughout the entire world.

Jordan Mooney, the sole five-star general in a South-Western country.

Donnie Valdez, one of the three leaders of the Underground Cartel Business in the Far West.

Aleph took a look at their addresses and found out that two of them are familiar.

'That's right..!'

He kept track of the "stalkers" that he had by writing all of their personal information down in a small notebook. It was the "debt notebook" which held the list of names of people whom he will default on their debts.

'It's you two, huh…'

"...are you listening?"

"Yes. Please pass my thanks to her. I will also forget what she tried to pull off a month ago."

"...Alright."

After some time, the call ended.

"You have a good relationship with her."

Einstein, who came back after grabbing a cup of coffee, looked at him with interest.

"She's not as bad as others think."

She raised her eyebrows when she saw Aleph defending Mobius.

"I know. I have some contact with her. She's just… stubborn."

"I agree with that."