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Chapter 54  Change of Plans

\'What the fuck...?\' Adam frowned, \'Can\'t you drive properly?\'

The car door opened as out stepped the driver, a man in a free military uniform with red fabric lines barely visible as he moved. The man looked at Adam, nodded respectfully, and opened the passenger door.

Puzzled, Adam saw only elegant crossed legs in red stockings, as well as smelled a pleasant aroma.

"Come on in. Don\'t worry. We\'ve already alerted your Operator. You can make sure of that, just make it quick." A calm female voice sounded.

Adam glanced at his NEP, nodded, and got into the car. Silvana\'s messages didn\'t say anything specific, but she said it was best he didn\'t refuse.

Stepping inside, Adam was greeted by a girl with short shoulder-length crimson hair and sharp amber eyes. She was dressed in a tight oriental red dress and long leather gloves covering her soft skin.

Adam knew immediately from the bracelet on her arm that she was also a Phantom, but there was no need for NEP.

Adam had been able to sense the auras of other Phantoms before, but after he\'d opened Lock, it had been taken to a new level. He could practically see a semi-transparent layer of scarlet aura around the girl, shivering and changing rapidly.

The car moved, and the girl smirked.

"Adam Vinter, it\'s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Zera Cryen, and I have come here to Third Ring on behalf of Crimson Path." Zera said majestically.

Adam raised an eyebrow.

"I take it this has to do with my fight against Oscar?" Adam suggested. There was no other reason for Zera to appear.

Zera nodded, satisfied.

"Yeah, but your fight has already been canceled." Zera nonchalantly said.

"What...? Oscar didn\'t inform me anything." Adam was puzzled.

Zera waved her hand as contempt appeared on her face.

"That idiot is a simple Artificial K1-Phantom, he didn\'t even realize what a stupid thing he was doing. You would have beaten him so easily and quickly that the fight would have been over before the spectators stopped betting."

Adam frowned.

"Oscar may not be the most friendly man, but we had a deal. I don\'t think you\'re in any position to decide that for him. Moreover, he\'s fulfilled his part of the bargain, so I\'m required to fight him, and it doesn\'t matter if the fight is interesting or not."

"Oh, you\'re wrong." Zera smirked, "Oscar has been trying to join Crimson Path for a long time now, so for his probationary period, he was put under my control. Don\'t worry about the money, consider it a goodwill gesture."

Adam sighed heavily. He didn\'t understand how a simple trip to a restaurant could end this way. Moreover, it hadn\'t even been a week since his plans had changed again, and he had no way to influence it.

"Whatever, let\'s say there\'s no fight now. What\'s next? I\'m not interested in politics, at least as long as I have a more important goal - killing monsters." Adam said coldly.

Zera smirked, then she abruptly leaned forward, meeting Adam\'s gaze as close as possible, their foreheads practically colliding. "Strict, cold, and confident, because you have a clear goal, right? However, to achieve your goals, you need to have resources, or in our case, power!" Zera pronounced, advancing towards Adam\'s neck.

"You\'re a Natural Phantom, moreover right after your first mission you became an Extra One, but... that\'s not even the most important thing. You know, a lot of people in Crimson Path would have doubts about you since you\'re from the slums."

Adam was puzzled by Zera\'s actions but decided to ignore them, it was the best way to make her lose interest. "Because of the purity of the bloodline, right? As I\'ve learned, you believe that a Phantom can\'t be strong without the proper bloodline."

Zera paused for a moment.

"No, or rather, that\'s not entirely true. Crimson Path believes that a Phantom with two parents who were Phantoms has more potential than a Phantom with one parent, and even more so than a Phantom with neither parent being a Phantom.

Then, Zera grabbed his chin and said with a hazy look, "Extra Natural Born Phantom with a strong Initial Gene, non-weapon Nexus - that\'s your brief description at the moment. However, another one was recently added - killing a Crown Type that was a Beginning Monster. For your information, it\'s quite rare."

However, it\'s not an unbreakable rule, it\'s just that the odds depend on it. With more potential, you are more likely to kill more monsters, simple as that. However, all bloodlines have to start somewhere, don\'t they?" Zera said calmly, taking rare deep breaths.

Then, Zera grabbed his chin and said with a hazy look, "Extra Natural Born Phantom with a strong Initial Gene, non-weapon Nexus - that\'s your brief description at the moment. However, another one was recently added - killing a Crown Type that was a Beginning Monster. For your information, it\'s quite rare."

Zera continued staring intently into Adam\'s calm blue eyes, "We believe that a Crown Type monster is a specific indicator for a Phantom with strong genes, after all, only the worthy one can have such dangerous opponents, right?"

Zera was silent for a while, then she closed her eyes and headed towards Adam\'s lips.

Adam\'s eyes went wide as he jerked sharply to the right and without hesitation threw Zera away from him. She had definitely crossed the line.

"Oh... Looks like I\'ve been rejected. That\'s a shame. I heard about your girlfriend, her name is Jena, I believe, isn\'t it?" Zera\'s eyes narrowed.

Adam didn\'t answer anything.

"I don\'t want to pry into your personal affairs, but if I were you, I\'d make her a lover, nothing more. I have some cute boys too, but they\'re not Phantoms, and they\'re not fit to breed with me." Zera said calmly as if it was something natural. Adam frowned.

"It\'s been interesting learning more about Crimson Path, really, but you better tell me what you want from me, or I\'ll leave."

Zera nodded.

"Fine, I\'ve had enough fun, but I want to remind you that I\'m currently single. I don\'t mind carrying your child in the future unless, of course, you die in a year." Zera bit her lip.

A shiver ran through Adam\'s body at Zera\'s forthrightness. Compared to Jena, this was a whole other level, for Zera spoke the language of nature and evolution - the strongest survived, meaning they were the ones who bred.

"I want to help you. No strings attached, just good memories of Crimson Path and the artifacts you so desperately need." Zera offered.

"What...? Artifacts?" Adam asked, remembering that his main goal was to create the first Key, and artifacts were one of the necessary materials.

Zera nodded.

"Tomorrow, my squad is going on a special mission, the Cluster Mission. In the Rusty Ruins, right in the cluster of abnormal zones that appeared a few days ago. On behalf of Crimson Path and myself, I invite you to join me this time. I\'m sure you\'ll be able to collect quite a few artifacts."

Zera smirked, she knew Adam wouldn\'t refuse, for it was too profitable.