Code Collector

From a distance, Allen and Jack saw a blinding light on top of a building. They didn't hesitate to run towards the light, fully knowing what it was.

"Gary," Jack said. "I've seen that before. It's his specialized weapon that he crafted. He used it once before."

"You practically know everything, don't you?" Allen smirked, making Jack snicker. "I know you're not just an old man, but you're extraordinary."

"I have to," Jack said. "Camp Twyla and all six surrounding camps are part of the main channel for Verta Carta. Our trades and business practically runs through these camps. If an excellent person stands out, I should know."

Allen left the conversation on that note as they arrived at the explosion site. Since they went directly after the explosion, no police officer was present at the scene. It was only them and the destroyed building.

"The explosion was brighter than its force," Allen noted. "The light reached the entire area, but the damage was too shallow and weak."

"Gary's grenade focuses on the light rather than the impact," Jack said. "If you think about it really well, you'll realize that it's nothing but a flash grenade with a damage. It was meant to scare beasts, and to think that Gary had to resort to this only means that he was fighting a beast."

"Chen," Allen whispered. "I saw him cut a beast in half, and under a blink of an eye. He's that powerful."

"That twat is your average Joe in Paradise," Jack snorted. "He just acts tough because most of the people in Haven can't take him. But that's also the reason why he's in Haven, and never ascended to the higher worlds. He's too weak and pathetic that all the gangs up there would beat him to a pulp.

"Chen is nothing but a coward who embellished himself with gold and diamonds. If I ever see that fool, I will kill him with my own hands," Jack seethed. "He had failed his father all his life, and now he wants to act tough. Let's see how long he'll last."

–

Clank. Clank. Clank.

Jeremy awoke to a sound of chains being dragged on a concrete floor. He fluttered his eyes open, but found nothing in his sight as his head was covered with a potato sack.

"Who are you and what do you want from me?" Jeremy asked out loud, trying to get answers from his abductors. "Oh. Chen! That's right. Chen, let me go!"

"You're really quite strong, huh?" Chen asked, smirking even though Jeremy couldn't see him. "I was just thinking. Floral Fairy Sarah instantly fainted the moment I released the pollen, yet you managed to stay awake right in time to see my face. Your resistance to Code skills must be high for that to happen."

"I don't care what you say," Jeremy grunted. "Just let me go, and I won't bother you. Hell. I didn't even bother you before you took me. What in the hell is this now?"

"You're such a loudmouth!" Chen angrily yelled. "Just be a good hostage and keep your mouth shut. You'll see your father soon enough. And when that happens, he'll be helping me get out of this hell called Haven. I will gain more Codes and EXPs and I will rule Paradise, then Eternity."

"Pfft," Jeremy couldn't suppress his snort and laugh. "You haven't met a lot of Hunters from higher realms, don't you? Because if you did, you wouldn't be this confident in yourself."

"What do you mean?" Chen asked. "I am strong, I am capable. I just need a few more Codes and levels to grind just so I could get stronger. Then I'll show those families how strong our gang is."

"You'll never win," Jeremy whispered. "There's still people who's going to stop you. And when those people come, just expect pure terror."

"Who are you relying on right now, huh?" Chen groaned.

"You know who I meant." Jeremy heard the man's footsteps. When Chen was right in front of him, he flinched after feeling the tingling sensation of fear. "I'm a partner of the Wandering Trader. He takes care of his customers, and he will definitely come to me."

"The Wandering Trader?" Chen paused from his tracks. "You made a deal with him too?"

Jeremy was speechless for a couple of seconds. In his mind, he was thinking what Chen meant. But he already knew what he meant by those words. The Wandering Trader also made a deal with Chen, just like him.

"You seem to be out of words," Chen snickered. "Couldn't believe it? Since we didn't have any nondisclosure agreement with the masked trader, I'll tell you what happened."

"No need," Jeremy said through gritted teeth. "I should've known. He makes deals with everybody."

"Yes!" Chen cheered as if he was a lunatic. "And his deal with me was rather odd. He only requested for information regarding what happened to the Fire Dragon Incident. Oh, wait, you were there too!"

Jeremy was silent while Chen continued. "He asked me for the summarization of the event from the discovery to the end. But then he suddenly screamed and ran away. He also traded me cool weapons, so I'm guessing that was the end of the deal.

"What now, mister police officer?" Chen leaned closer to Jeremy. "Cat got your tongue? Why can't you speak?"

Jeremy was silent because he was trying to figure out what exactly happened. Why would the Wandering Trader want with an information like that? It seemed to random, but him knowing that the man had his own ideals, he was going to blindly trust him.

"Yet…" Chen spoke again. "Since I was also his partner, he will also protect me. How will that happen? Oh, wait, I know!"

The bag that was covering Jeremy's face was suddenly removed, making him squint his eyes as he adjusted to the light. After a couple of blinks, he could now see that they were in an abandoned factory. 

There were large machines that were used to make canned goods on the side while he was tied on a metal chair in the middle of a cement hall. He assumed this was the place where the crates were suppose to be considering there were abandoned crates on the side.

"Look at your hero," Chen said as he pulled Jeremy's face to the side. The latter's eyes widened after seeing the scene in front of him.

There was a large pole that three people tied to it. There were two bars that crossed the pole. Sarah and Gwen were tied to the lower bar while a man with the Wandering Trader's mask was tied to the higher pole.

"W-What's this?" Jeremy stuttered. "The Wandering Trader was a strong man. He could've easily handled you. H-How?"

"I have your answer," Chen smirked. "That's because I'm not alone. He did put up a fight that was worthy to be remembered by, but at the end of the day, it's still six versus one. All six of us already ascended to Paradise, you get the point."

"Impossible," Jeremy whispered. "Even so, he–"

The man paused and looked at Chen in the eyes. As his years of being a police officer, he had learned quite a number of tricks and techniques as he did his job. He faced a lot of people, some even comparable to Chen.

And all they have in common was the truth in their eyes. He couldn't tell if Chen lied when he said he made a deal with the Wandering Trader since he can't see the man's eyes, but now that he could, lies and deceptions were the only thing that was shining in his eyes.

Jeremy leaned down and sighed. "But he was strong. I refuse to believe this."

Another thing that he learned was the art of deception itself. When you act clueless or down, your foes will also let their guards down. His technique was to make Chen talk and inform him about more things, so he can use them in the future.

Chen tends to talk more especially when he feels like he's dominating the scene. He revealed his partnership with the Wandering Trader and even the details about their deal just because Jeremy let him speak his mind out.

A police's code was always, "Anything you say or do will be used against you," and those words are going to be Jeremy's key into figuring out Chen. He already know the man behind the mask was not the Wandering Trader, all he needed to do now was to stall Chen so the real one would come.

"Hey!" Chen yelled. "Are you even listening?"

"I'm still so shocked," Jeremy lied. "How could this be?"

Chen opened his mouth to say something, but a loud explosion from nearby cut him off. This made the man grunted and grit his teeth as he called his men.

"What the hell was that?!" Chen growled.

"Sir, we're being attacked!" One of his men yelled. "It's Jack and he's with the Wandering Trader!"