Cyberpunk: Ultimate Cyborg System-Chapter 613: The Message Has Been Sent.

The old man sat down, and the others followed, each taking their designated seat. Sagi took the seat on his left, and with both their hair being white, it made for a rather interesting contrast. Kaiser sat right next to him, placing his wine glass on a hovering tray that took it away soon after. The walking pile of bricks took the next seat, creating a wall between the blond man and the little girl, whose seat had to be adjusted to account for her small stature.

On the other side of the table, Isabel took the seat on the old man’s right, with the tall, long-haired man beside her. The remaining five chairs were left empty, which drew a sigh from the old man.

"Neither Sun nor Pan bothered to attend, I see..."

"When did they ever do?" Kaiser scoffed.

"I think Pan is just running late," Sagi said. "I don’t know about Sun, though."

"I wouldn’t be surprised if he never heard about the meeting." Chimi crossed her arms, sinking into the back of her chair. "That damned monkey is probably sleeping in a mountain somewhere."

"No matter. Make sure to deliver a report for him, Jean."

"Eeeeh!? But why me!?" The long haired man began batting his long eyelashes, wearing a sorrowful look.

"You know the rules." Isabel chuckled.

The old man cleared his throat, bringing silence back into the room. Tapping the table twice, he summoned a floating, semi-transparent screen.

"Today, we gather to discuss the recent incident in Neo-Vatra. As you may have already heard, both the eastern branch and the local Bureau of Enhanced Operations were assaulted about a week ago. Moriarty, your report."

"I’m not gonna sugarcoat it." The little girl placed a rectangular device on the table. "It’s bad."

A large screen appeared at the end of the table, and a video immediately started playing. The audio seemed to have been muted, and the chaotic scenes being played explained why. Explosions that spread flames like crashing waves. Flashes of light that washed color off the world. Debris flaying in unnatural patterns before turning into meteors.

It was a scene straight out of armageddon, and the ones who caused it appeared in the images that popped up once the video stopped playing.

"We have counted nine Level 5s." Chimi tapped on the screen in front of her, magnifying one of the images. "And at least one Level 6."

"Is that-"

"Number 76," Kaiser said, cutting Jean off. "Transferring him to that city had been a fortunate coincidence."

The image showed two men in the process of beating each other. The blonde in the blue and red costume was the world’s strongest superhero, Paragon, though his current state could put that title up for debate, seeing how he seems to be losing.

His opponent had an equally impressive build which he didn’t hesitate to show through his exposed upper half. A maniacal grin decorated his face as he pulled Paragon by the collar, trying to pierce the hero’s skull with the blue lines shooting out of his eyes.

"Are we sure he is not a Garm?" Isabel asked.

"His name is Khaled Sedrati," Kaiser said. "A soldier from the Blood Crescent Revolutionary Sect, a warlord-led faction in the not-so-united United Faris Kingdom."

Chimi took over from there.

"We have found evidence that Catalyst had been used in a battle they participated in a few months earlier. We suspect that Blood Crescent, among other organizations, had been used to test the drug and find potential candidates for Genesis."

"Obviously, they have yet to achieve that last part." The big guy glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "Right?"

"If they had, we wouldn’t be having this conversation." Isabel heaved a sigh. "I doubt they have made any progress in creating an Anchor."

"Their foolishness knows no bounds," Jean said in a wistful tone, flicking a few strands back. "I expect nothing less from the traitors."

"Is there a reason for you to be this dismissive?"

Having listened in silence, brushing his long beard all the while, the old man spoke again, his criticizing tone causing the others to shiver.

"May I remind you that not only did they feel emboldened into launching a direct assault on one of our bases, but it can be said that they have claimed victory as well. And let’s not forget that you have yet to make any progress in tracking them. Can you truly look down on them knowing all of that?"

Though he was looking at the long-haired man, the weight of the old man’s word fell on the others equally.

"My apologies, Master Tiān." Jean bowed his head slightly. "It seems my tone has been inappropriate."

Paying him no heed, the old man turned to the little girl, prompting her to continue.

"N-Number 76 was able to dispose of the Pretender, and with Flame Guard’s support, they managed to suppress the rest and even captured a few!"

"And what is the price that had to be paid?" Master Tiān asked.

"We... we lost some researchers..." shrinking into her chair, Chimi wished it hadn’t been adjusted for her. "And data..."

"Nothing too important was being handled in the eastern branch," Kaiser said. "I believe they only intended to test how far they got, and send a message."

"And the message has been sent." Master Tiān said. "They can create Level 6s now. From a pill."

"Doesn’t that mean we’re in a really bad spot?" Hesitantly, Sagi held his hand up, his lips quivering as he spoke. "If this turns into a numbers game..."

"Idiot, it has always been a numbers game," Kaiser said.

"Should we up the production, then?" Isabel asked.

"If only it were that easy."

Silence returned to the room as everyone turned to the old man, waiting for his input. Master Tiān’s eyes wandered down in thought as he slowly brushed his long beard. It was a while before he spoke again.

"We can no longer ignore the Garms. At this rate, they may attempt to steal the Anchor."

"That is their goal, I presume," Jean said.

"I believe we should increase our effort and deal with them once and for all. We let our guard down after taking out the Apers and the Gallos, but that didn’t seem to have slowed them."

No one objected to Sagi’s suggestion, and after some time, Master Tiān gave the final verdict.

"We will focus entirely on eliminating the Garm for the foreseeable future." He said. "We will need to call the Legion of Valor back to the surface. I doubt the Garms will bother attacking the East Coast again, so have Number 76 return to his position."

Seconds passed, but the confirmation that should have followed didn’t come. All eyes turned to Chimi, causing her to twitch even with her head lowered. As she maintained her silence, Kaiser’s eyes slowly widened.

"Don’t tell me..."

An annoyed sigh escaped the old man, and once again, the others felt the pressure of his disappointment.

"Moriarty, six months have passed." He said. "I hope you have a good excuse for why you have yet to retrieve it."

"Pan forced me!" Jumping onto her chair, Chimi slammed her hands on the table, her face pale with panic. "He kept getting in the way of the search!" 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"You idiot..." Looking rather annoyed, more than usual, Kaiser could only hold a hand to his aching forehead.

"He got in your way?" Master Tiān raised an eyebrow. "Pan?"

"He said he wanted to test things! I didn’t want to let it get this far, but I had no choice!"

Somehow, instead of the rebuttal she was expecting, all Chimi got was a confused look from the old man at the end of the table. Looking her in the eyes, he asked a very obvious, yet very strange question.

"Why would Pan get in your way?"

"I..." The words had been on the tip of her tongue, but when she attempted to let them out, there was nothing. Tilting her head, she furrowed her brows. "I wonder why?"

"Shit..." Kaiser gritted his teeth, still holding his forehead. "I think he got me, too."

Master Tiān’s expression darkened, and the mood in the meeting room took another dive. Just then, a very distinct sound caught their attention, and they all turned to look at one of the corners. Their eyes followed a silver coin as it rose up, flipping a few times before going down. It landed on something soon after, revealing a palm that had always been there, but no one noticed it until then.

"Pan..."

As the name left the old man’s mouth, the man standing in the corner flipped the coin between his fingers before flicking it with his thumb. It rose to his eye level, its polished surface reflecting a glimmer on the gentle smile he wore as he leaned back on the wall, his relaxed eyes betraying no anxiousness over what was being discussed.

"You called?"