Chapter 548 (1/2)

The problem with the truth, Randidly knew, was that once it was out, it was impossible to take back. If he were to tell her the truth, there would likely be repercussions that were difficult to predict. So at the time she asked, Randidly had simply said that yes, they were related to that man. He refused to say anything more.

They had fucking held hands through the whole talk. Well, less a talk and more her asking questions and him looking at the ground.

What the FUCK was he doing? Randidly didn’t have time for this.

So now, sitting in his workshop, Randidly considered.

The Creature was here, likely fueling some arm of the Unity Church or the Zone 1 government to perform experiments by taking body parts. The details of which were difficult to understand. Why on such a grand scale? Why would a gym be included in the blueprints? Why had the media found out about it so quickly?

Obviously to locate him. But who would have the power to request that?

Randidly needed more information. Part of that would come with being around people, but he needed to be around higher ranking individuals. To understand the power structure, he needed to be a part of it. Based on what Davey had told him, creating drones would get him there.

Meanwhile, there was the problem of Tatiana, both personally and what she stood for. She had obviously used that vivid language in her accusation on purpose to incite a reaction in him. Curiosity was clear in her eyes. It was slightly emotionally cruel, but some part of her worried that Randidly truly might be that cold-blooded killer.

Well, wasn’t he?

Randidly shook his head. This was wildly off topic.

Beyond just telling her the truth, there was the problem of what truths to tell. That he was that orange haired man? That he was Randidly Ghosthound? Or just that he was from another Zone?

“A waste of time,” Randidly announced. So he closed his eyes and focused on himself. There were growing feelings towards Tatiana. There was nothing he could do about that. But he could set them aside for now. Above personal issues, finding the Creature was the most important.

Briefly, he considered trying to just sneak into the locations of high Tiered citizens, but then he felt somewhat at a loss. What was he even looking for? The information he needed was likely to be disguised. Although it was a tenuous plan, focusing on drones gave him concrete goals and a path that he could follow. These other ways… that was the domain of people like Mrs. Hamilton. This was not his strong suit.

So Randidly got to work.

Besides, he enjoyed it.

Two days later, Randidly emerged from his workshop disheveled and found Henrik. This version of the Skylark left the man silent. So much so that Randidly worried about whether he had made a mistake. But then he was passed $400.00 and was told this was exactly what they needed. Specifically, Randidly’s version of the Skylark weighed the same amount as the previous version, but he had been able to boost the thrust of it by almost 200%.

Of course, it could only maintain this increased boost for brief periods. Otherwise, it would overheat. Or it would shake so much that the internal components could come out of line. But it was a bit of progress, nonetheless.

Much of the inspiration for it had come from the recently acquired drones. But he had only gone through two of them and was able to figure out several ways to adjust the runes inside of the drones. Once he went through them all…

But before he focused more directly on his plan to adjust the runic language, he needed a product that would bring predictable income to him. That would make it much easier to plan out how to proceed.

Afterward, Randidly returned to his underground base to train. Honestly, these past two months in Zone 1 he had spent a lot of time working on ancillary things. He had gotten a bunch of PP in the process, but letting the performance of his other Skills was not an option. Especially because the invitation from Helen was for around four months from now…

Shivering, Randidly got to his spearwork. It was a reassuring movement, to stab with a spear. These were his roots, not literally, and reminded him of simpler times in the Dungeon with Shal. Randidly’s lip curled upward. He wondered whether Shal would be his match when he returned to Shal’s world. It was hard to judge now, how strong his teacher was.