[06:17pm]

Leon blinked. 'I slept for more than 3 hours?'

Only now did he realize just how tired his body was after the journey.

Since leaving his shelter, he went to Community G and that same evening embarked on the journey to Wurzburg. In the Geneforge Town, despite staying in a hotel, he didn't get to sleep well due to the beast raid at night.

The next day, the journey to Larton Town was even more complicated as he survived a nanite storm and a deadly Neon Beast ambush right after.

At the end of it, his ADE was depleted, leaving him weak.

Arriving in Larton Town, he still didn't get to rest, he boarded the train immediately. And on the train, he was forced to fight again against the terrorists.

The journey to Leviathan Quay was more treacherous than he wanted to admit, but now he felt invigorated.

He stretched, looking around the bar and noticing that there were more customers now. 'I really needed this nap'.

He finally focused on the name calling him.

[Incoming Call from Lieutenant Johnmark…]

Click!

The moment he answered the call, a holographic projection of the Lieutenant appeared in front of Leon.

The Lieutenant looked at him. "Your GPS is on, I've confirmed your coordinates," he said. "My subordinate will be there in a few minutes, your new identity is ready".

Hearing that, Leon immediately smiled. "Thank you".

The Lieutenant nodded to acknowledge him, then he asked. "Anything else?"

Leon didn't hesitate to nod as his face turned serious. "Do you remember what you said in the Train?" He asked. "That you want me to craft a Rifle similar to mine for you".

"Ah". The Lieutenant nodded as he remembered. "What about it?"

"Actually, I need your help". Leon said seriously. "As a Mechanist, I need to research and experiment to grow and for that, I need a lot of materials and other things that are not easily available to the public".

Leon shamelessly looked at the Lieutenant's holo-projection. "As friends, I don't know if you can help me procure raw materials and also help me with other favors. In exchange, I'll work for you and craft any weapon that you want".

"You want to do business with the Gene Army?"

"Yes". Leon nodded seriously.

Lieutenant Johnmark rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Even though we don't have a lot of Mechanists in our ranks, the army doesn't normalize hiring outside help, we prefer insiders. We prefer recruiting Mechanists instead".

Leon sighed. "I really need your help".

The Lieutenant paused for a few seconds, then he said. "Military materials are supposed to remain in the military".

Leon's heart sank.

"But there are exceptions".

Leon's eyes immediately brightened again.

"As a Lieutenant, I have certain privileges". Lieutenant Johnmark said seriously. "For a friend, I can bend the rules a bit and nobody will stress about it but you have to pay the industry standard equivalent".

"Agreed". Leon immediately said with a smile.

"Also," the Lieutenant scrutinized him carefully. "I've seen you fight, and like I said, you're the bravest and strongest Mechanist that I've ever seen".

"But you and I know that a Mechanist's greatest utility is still constructing things". His eyes narrowed as he looked at Leon. "Be sincere, how good are you at constructing?"

Leon grinned then he answered confidently. "Below D Rank, my construction ability is unrivaled among Mechanists!"

"…"

Lieutenant Johnmark was taken aback as he stared at the Mechanist in disbelief, then he laughed. "What a personality! That's why I like you".

He nodded. "Fine, deal. You can make any request you want with her when she comes, I'll also inform her to tell you my immediate requests".

"Deal". Leon smiled.

With that, he finally disconnected the call.

He stood up and went to the bar's restroom before washing his face with clean water and drying the water off with a clean towel.

After that, he returned to his chair to sit down and waited. As he waited, he typed a few things on the notepad of his smartphone.

Less than 5 minutes later, the door to the bar opened and a familiar face entered. It was the same female soldier with long brown hair that was tied in a bun that Leon met on the maglev train.

She wore a familiar brown military attire.

Pinned to the right side of her chest was the emblem of the Geneforge Clans, while at the left side of her chest was a name badge.

Leon quickly glanced at it.

[Sergeant Tyla]

The moment she entered the bar, she caused a commotion as the bar instantly became extremely silent as all the customers stared at her warily.

A few rugged-looking customers even quickly snuck out the back door.

The moment she arrived in front of Leon's table, he rose up to shake the soldier's hand. "Sergeant Tyla". He greeted with a smile.

She shook his hand respectfully. "Mr. Thomas Riley".

Only Lieutenant Johnmark and the Engineman Mr. Dave knew his real name.

As soon as the Sergeant sat down, she brought out her smartphone and projected a small holo-projection before him.

"These are your identification details".

[Name: Thomas Riley]

[Image=]

[Origin: Western Fringe]

[Unique traits: Black hair, black eyes, 6 feet 2 inches tall. Recipient of a unique cosmetic surgery to look very human…]

The image was that of Leon in a black coat.

Reading the last parts of the description in the identification details, Leon nodded in a subtle manner. That was very important to him.

Since entering Leviathan Quay, though the people here were busier and minded their business than people in the Wastes and Towns, people still looked at him weirdly because of just how normal he looked.

But Leon already accepted it.

His plan to tackle the problem of his race was simple. Instead of donning a disguise that may not be successful, Leon decided to build the foundations of his disguise on truth, hiding his true secret in plain sight.

If he told anybody that he was a real human, the person was likely not going to believe him unless the person had Talia levels of intelligence or he went in-depth to explain, so why take the risk?

Instead of doing that, it was easier and safer to simply say he had cosmetic surgery to look human. People were more likely to believe that, and that way, he could also escape the radar of certain powerful people.

After hearing what that Priest had to say about the Extremist Movement back at the train, Leon became even more determined to create this identity to hide one of his big secrets.

Instead of Leon the human, he was now Thomas Riley the Geneform who started a new trend of cosmetic surgery to look human.

Leon slightly expected to get a physical I.D card but apparently, physical I.Ds were already outdated. All he got was a virtual identity card.

'I wonder why they still use paper money bills'. He thought as Sergeant Tyla quickly transferred all the details to him.

After getting an identity card, Leon felt less uptight in this city. He finally felt like he belonged.

Immediately after that, he clicked on his smartphone and projected a hologram to the Sergeant.

Sergeant Tyla looked at the hologram.

"I believe the Lieutenant already told you about my intentions," Leon said and explained as she stared at the list. "I'm a Mechanist and to be effective, I need a few raw materials to work with".

"I need a few explosive fillers, white phosphorus, high-quality metals, high-quality rubber and plastic, metal powder, sensors, motors, and if possible, a few Knowledge Scrolls".

Sergeant Tyla was stunned. "You need so many things?"

Leon nodded seriously. "At the moment, yes, this is all what I need. I may need other things later".

Sergeant Tyla flashed an embarrassed smile. "I'm afraid this is already beyond my purview, I'll have to send the list to the Lieutenant".

Having expected something like this, Leon was not surprised as he sent the contents in his list to her. She quickly forwarded them to the Lieutenant.

About a minute later, her smartphone rang.

Ring! Ring!

The moment she picked the call, she heard the Lieutenant say just 3 words. "Give him the phone".

She did.

For some reason, taking the smartphone, Leon's pulse accelerated as he calmly waited for the Lieutenant to speak.

In a deeper voice, the Lieutenant finally said. "That's a lot".

Leon forced a smile as he shamelessly refused to relent. "I told you, I'm an ambitious Mechanist".

There was silence on the other end of the call for a few seconds, then Lieutenant Johnmark asked in a solemn tone. "Leon, can I trust you?"

"Of course". Leon blurted out immediately.

The Lieutenant was unfazed as he continued in a calm voice. "People say my character is too straightforward and barbaric, that I'm naïve, and some people have taken advantage of me because of it".

His voice turned solemn. "I've lost a lot of money due to this, I've also lost promotion opportunities in the army due to it".

The Lieutenant's voice turned even more serious. "Listen, I'm sticking my head out for you here if I do this".

"If you end up bringing harm to the city or the Gene Army and they trace you back to me, my career may not be the only thing that's at stake, I may just lose my life too".

"So once again I'm going to ask you, Leon, can I trust you?"

Leon finally understood why his pulse accelerated.

This time, he didn't answer immediately. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down, and then he answered in a serious tone.

"Yes Lieutenant, you can trust me".

That was all Lieutenant Johnmark needed to hear from his friend.

He ignored the rational warning of his brain and the trauma from his past experiences, shutting it all down and once again following his gut instincts and vibes.

This was the kind of man that he was.

His voice clearly relaxed as he said. "First, Knowledge Scrolls are core secrets of any army, the Gene Army doesn't trade them outside or easily release them. The only way you can get them is through completing missions for the army".

"Missions?" Leon frowned.

"Yes".

The Lieutenant continued. "You don't have to be a part of the army. After the incident that happened this time, with my influence, I've made the army heads in Leviathan Quay focus more on the Extremist Movement".

"I expect major offensive action to be taken soon. If I'm part of these offensive squads, I will apply to recruit an external expert".

"With my report about you on the train battle, I believe there's a high chance for you to receive external missions from the army".

"You can amass contribution points like this and when they're enough, you can use them to exchange for Knowledge Scrolls. This is the only way I know for an unaffiliated Ascended like you to get such privilege from the army".

Leon didn't hesitate as soon as he understood what needed to be done. "I'm ready when a mission is ready".

"Good," Lieutenant Johnmark's voice showed his satisfaction. "As for your other requests for raw materials, it'll take pulling some strings but I can make it happen".

"You have to send the money on time though".

Leon scratched the back of his head. "About the money part …"

The Lieutenant was stunned. "You had the balls to write such a comprehensive list without having money?"

Leon chuckled. "I think I have a way to make money but I don't know if it's reliable yet, so I'll lean towards gathering contribution points".

"How?"

"You said you like my Rifle right? Well, it's not the only one that I have". Leon took a deep breath, he was about to make a big decision but for his growth he felt that it was worth it.

"I have a few more blueprints," he said finally. "I can send them to you to go through to see if you like anyone. If you like anyone, all you have to do is provide the materials and I'll craft them, no need to pay me".

"Let me exchange for contribution points instead".

Lieutenant Johnmark laughed. "You're a really likeable lad".

"Good, I like this idea, let's do it".

"Great". Leon smiled. "I'll send you the blueprints now".

"Which warehouse should I send the materials to?"

"Uh…" Leon was tongue-tied again. 'F*ck, I'm really lacking in so many ways!'

"I'll update you soon". He simply said which the Lieutenant agreed to, and then he finally ended the call.

After that, he shook hands with Sergeant Tyla and she left the bar.

As soon as she left, the customers finally got the courage to look at him. Their looks had a queasy sense of apprehension to it now.

Leon chuckled, dusted his clothes, picked up his bag and stood up.

He looked at the time.

[06:32pm]

He clicked his tongue. "It's time to go join the tournament".

After getting his new identity, it was time for Thomas Riley to finally enter the stage.

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