Chapter 217 - Relieving Stress (1/2)
Laz had made a phone call before he headed towards his bike in the parking lot after he exited the building. As it turned out, it was to a temp service that was set up by the city to get people to help out. Basically, the couldn't get employees into the various restaurants and entertainment venues to take care of the crowds of people they were projecting would be coming. Prior to this event, it was just locals taking care of locals and there weren't any issues. But now, with millions of people set to enter the city for the event, they needed help. The message said they were closed now but to call back in the morning, a normal kind of business deal. At least the place sounded legit.
Of course Laz knew that the biggest factor was that ongoing issues within the city caused people to want to avoid areas where the rival associations were located. Even though they had been quiet as of late, there was no better time for them to make a showing than at one of the worlds largest festivals.
Either way, none of this was really a concern for Laz as he was suppose to head south and now he had. He didn't really know what he was looking for or even how far south he was suppose to go. All he knew was that he had been taking it slow and keeping an ear out for a clue. This had been the first time that he heard about something that might lead to what he was looking for.
Thinking that he would have to call again in the morning, Laz just shrugged it off and decided to head back to his motel. It was pretty late already.
Just as Laz had reached his bike though, it seemed like some of the locals who had seen him throw down some money for the two brothers wanted to maybe ask him to cover their own bar tabs. As such, they had taken to following him as he was walking. Once he stopped though, they finally noticed the bike he had rode in on and started taking a liking to that.
”Hold up there friend. I just noticed what a sweet ride you have. I was just wondering if me and my girl can take it out for a spin, eh? What do you say?” The biggest guy in front laughed while hugging a big b.r.e.a.s.ted blonde who was standing next to him. She seemed like she was acting shy and trying to smack his hand away, but that just made him squeeze her harder until she quieted down with a smile on her face. It almost looked like she was claiming her turf.
Laz couldn't help but laugh at just how ridiculous this situation was.
”Tell you what fatty, I'll let you take my baby out for a spin if you don't mind me having a ride on that piece of a.s.s,” Laz responded back with a smirk while pointing at the girl he was holding.
The big man didn't seem to register what Laz said at first but as soon as he did, his face turned red while a vein in his forehead throbbed. It was clear that he was pissed now.
”You little f.u.c.k.i.n.g piece of shit. I'm going to slit yer god damn...”
”Hold up. Hold up. I take that back. I don't mind a ride with high miles, but this one was obviously not well taken care of. Forget I said anything. I prefer something on the clean side. Maybe next time chubby.” Laz couldn't help himself. It wasn't like he was trying to be an asshole, Laz had just gotten a bit more cynical and wasn't nearly as passive as he used to be. This change came with him being on his own for the last six months. Not having anyone to talk to was not an easy way to live and it definitely caused some attitude issues.
Just as Laz was about to hop on to his bike, he felt a large hand grab on to his shoulder.
”I was only going to take your money and your bike before, but now I'm going rip yer god damn spine out through your back and beat you with it you little f.u.c.ker.”
The large man was obviously angry and he was going to let Laz off easy. But he had no idea exactly what he was dealing with.
The man had at least a foot on Laz, causing Laz to be much smaller than him in many ways. To the casual onlooker, it looked like it was going to be a fight between a grown man and a child, something these types of people loved to see. But he posed no threat to Laz who had been trained in martial arts. Even if his energy was still sealed, Laz wouldn't have had a problem.
But it was no longer sealed.
It had taken Laz a while to break down the grey smoke, but it was much quicker with the way the owl had given to him than what he was doing on his own. And the benefits were astounding. Before he had broken down the energy from the grey mist, his body could have been compared to a hard piece of seasoned leather. Stiff, durable, almost impossible to cut through while being semi bullet proof. Kind of like Kevlar. The dangerous bit was that while his skin and muscles were stronger, his inner organs and bones were still pretty normal, at least for an infected. They were much stronger than an ordinary human, but a large impact would still have proven fatal even if his skin remained intact.
But now, thanks to the strange grey mist, his entire body, from the inside out was like a hard stone, solid and durable. And thanks to the strengthening of his body, Laz felt like he was better able to control his inner energy, especially the black flame that was now free. Although it took a while, it seemed to have grown quite a bit compared to how it was when he had first entered the foundation realm. Sadly though, his level was not able to advance. Looking at the base of the foundation, Laz knew that he was missing the second line of code to give him the power up that he needed.
Even though he had gotten stronger, he was now feeling stuck. The worst part about the whole thing was that Laz had no idea if this was even normal. It was maddening.
Laz had been able to use his energy for a few weeks now, but the last of the grey mist had only been burned up this morning. After being stifled for so long, feeling the separation of those he cared for one after another and all this after having been hunted like a beast, Laz's mood wasn't the best to begin with.
Fortunately, a few human punching bags had made their way to him to help him release some of his frustration. Laz was almost feeling like he would tear up at this gift. These big ugly brutes were truly like angels to his eyes right now.