Chương 173: B3. 16.2 - Gabe's Plan

I dropped to my knees beside Deen and shook her body. She limply wiggled but didn't wake up.

"Are you okay?" I asked with a loud voice, not caring about who could hear me. I knew danger would fall upon us soon, and this happened. Fucking annoying.

"Wake up. Wake up!" Deen undressed me, acted like a dictator bitch, and suddenly passed out like this? What the fuck just happened? Her convulsions were like those she had when she first got her powers. Was her artificial Core acting up? I slid my hand into her clothes—I didn't want to pay for tearing them—and felt for her Core. It wasn't warm! Pulling down her shirt's neckline, I found that her Core didn't give off the subtle light it usually did because it was always turned on.

Did it mean her annoying pet wasn't around when she was unconscious? It made sense because Deen wouldn't be able to hear its instructions. But why didn't Deen's Guardian Angel warn her about this? Unless this was part of Gabe's plan! Wait… what was the fucking plan? If Deen didn't tell me, then Gabe probably didn't tell her either. Before Deen started to audition for the role of an electrocuted blonde, she waved her hand to the right. Reaching out for something? Her Guardian Angel?

Gabe had told her several times not to touch it—this was why. She finally did it. Gabe must've told her to do so; that was the only explanation for such stupidity. The puzzle pieces started to fit in my head. Gabe knocked out Deen, without her knowledge and against her wishes, obviously. I could think of one reason for this—Gabe wanted to save Deen while leaving me to deal with whatever shit was coming. All futures probably had Deen protecting me at the cost of her own safety. Sweet and all, but Gabe got its way.

Stupid feathery bastard. Deen was controlling. Her Guardian Angel was also controlling. They were a perfect pair. Where did this leave me? Deen didn't even tell me the actual nature of the enemy.

"What do I do with you?" I picked up Deen's body and weaved through the trees, looking for a place to stow her away while I dealt with the danger. Gabe correctly predicted that I wouldn't use my unconscious best friend as a not-so-human shield, even if just out of spite. I intended to survive today, so I had to protect Deen for my future use. Gabe's plan proved that Deen was loyal to me. Plus, I'd blame her for abandoning me, adding a chain of guilt. I couldn't let my precious pawn die tonight. Tonight?

It was probably super early morning by now. Tomorning? I found a big tree with a gap in its roots. I unceremoniously threw Deen's body into the small space, not caring about her position. I prayed she'd get a stiff neck or something in there. Then I covered her with all the tall grass within yanking distance. The shadows cast by the tree's thick canopy hid the ground disturbed by my frantic weeding. See you later, Deen. I ran in the opposite direction to lead our enemies away from her.

That was a heroic moment for me, wasn't it? Someone better give me an award for this. Deen would be safe back there since this was all according to Gabe's plan. It also meant that the USB with PCM's data would be fine as well. My remaining problem was saving my own ass. Guess I'm on my own, I thought, looking left and right for anything that would attack from the shadows. Who, or what, was the enemy? BID agents? Four Arms would've called for backup the moment he fought Trigger Happy.

But I doubted that BID agents would pose so much of a threat that Deen's Guardian Angel would resort to this trick to save her. With several minutes of future sight, Regular Gabe would've guided us to safety no problem. Couldn't be the PCM either. Those idiots didn't have the means to harm us. Or if they did, they would've attacked way sooner. Not now, when we were a group. I couldn't see the PCM manipulating us just for excavation purposes, and wanting to get rid of us after. This left the worst possibility.

"Corebrings…" I whispered with a mixture of annoyance and excitement. I had counted on Deen's power to keep me safe. With that gone, what was my next step? Transform into Blanchette or not? I suspected that Gabe saw me choosing to become Blanchette. My Adumbrae energy would definitely attract the Corebrings to me like moths to a candlelight. I used to burn moths as a child when we'd go to Aunt Jemma's farm.

Staying as Erind might not be the correct choice either, particularly if Glowy Erind was the reason the Corebring were here. Why didn't Gabe call for an evacuation sooner? Either the Corebrings were already here, or they'd come later and detect us.

"If I'm going to get found," I muttered, stopping behind the last tree of the park before the sidewalk wrapped around it, "might as well be ready to fight." I unwrapped my right hand and summoned my Blanchette mask. The liquid rising out of the crystals on my palm painted the tree trunk next to me with golden light. The gold glow turned red as the mask solidified. I hurriedly brought the mask to my face, pulling down the covering on my mouth. And the Blanchette mask becomes my face. I blinked.

It was as if the sun instantly shooed away the night. The entire park was visible to me. Every leaf. Every wrinkle on the tree trunk's bark. I could even count the legs of the creepy crawlies crawling on the weeds. All my other senses were also heightened. Difficult to explain, but I could sense my surroundings by how the wind caressed my exposed skin. It was also a bit chilly, wearing such a skimpy attire in the middle of the night. Maybe I should've also bought clothes for my transformation.

Would Deen have any recommendations? Or she'd just tear my clothes again? This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. I smelled traces of Deen's sweet scent as well as my original body's. I also detected some more scents from people who have passed this area. Some homeless dudes. The stronger scents were from the other hero wannabes. I could sort of recognize their smell from our meeting at the docks.

That weird, earthy, and slightly gamey odor was definitely Kelsey's Adumbrae body. Not sure of a decent way to describe it. Sorry, Kelsey. Besides the rustling leaves and creaking branches, I could hear slight movements all around me. That must be a stray cat going through some trash. Those were a couple of birds flying above. So far, no sounds of any threats. In the distance, I picked up the sirens of police cars. The high-pitched whine came from an ambulance. A nearby Adumbrae attack?

Was that what attracted the Corebrings to this area? I wasn't worried about the prospect of meeting an Adumbrae as strength surged through my body. I tensed every muscle, savoring the power stored inside their coils. If someone was out there, let them come! I'd tear them apart with my fangs! Raising my snout, I snapped my jaws at the air. I absolutely loved the feeling of the force of the crash spreading from my jawbone to the rest of my skull.

Straining my powerful neck muscles with each bite upped the sensation of invincibility. What does a Corebring taste like? I bet I could beat one. And eat one. Or maybe not, since Gabe didn't seem to think so. But the predator part of my brain wanted to try fighting one. If I could delay the fight until I reached my giant werewolf form, I might be able to win. But then, the BID agents would also join in the battle. Maybe the National Guardsmen, too.

As much as I wanted that to happen—it would be a very cinematic fight—I was also well aware that I might die. Why did fun things have to be so deadly, like sugar and grease? I ran out of the park, calming my simmering feral side. Current plan: get as far away from here as possible. Survive. Avoid any fights. Shake off my pursuers. Get home and drink a liter of sugar-filled milk tea from the vending machine. Deen could fend for herself once she woke up inside that tree. We'd both live.

Sounds like a good plan, especially because I came up with it. The problem was the 'shaking off my pursuers' part. I had to assume that Corebrings could track me in some way that Gabe could do nothing against. I sprinted across the street and scaled a two-story building faster than a monkey could. On the roof, I spotted red and blue lights a few blocks away. Not that way. I turned left and navigated the neighborhood, jumping from the top of one apartment building to another. So… Nothing's going to happen? Hello?

Flapping noises. I looked up in the sky and saw a seagull flying above. My entire body went on alert mode. Seagulls were common in the city, especially with the beach nearby. But this one wasn't so normal. Seagulls were primarily diurnal, active during the daytime. Though one flying at night wasn't the most suspicious thing in the world. However, this bird seemed to have been following me. It had been around from the moment I left the park, if I wasn't mistaken. I had earlier ignored it. That was a mistake.

I could hear the seagulls beating heart and smell that it was an actual bird. But it gave off an unnatural vibe that my regular senses couldn't explain. I jumped to the next building, a level higher than the previous one. Latching on its side, I dug my claws into the concrete wall and dug out a fist-sized chunk. Once I reached the roof, I swung back my arm, lining my sights at the stupid bird. Sudden pain! The weight of my throwing arm increased.

Turning to look at it, I saw that a long metal pole had grown out of the back of my hand, pointing diagonally downward. My fingers unwrapped from the rock, weakened as the bones and muscles inside my hand got wrecked somehow. An inch of the pole was inside my hand! It felt like my hand was skewered, but the other end of the pole, past my hand, was missing. Was this the power of whoever was controlling the bird? I held my hand in front of me, palm facing down, as I continued to run.

The pole was now pointing up, swaying back and forth according to my gait. Topping it was a long blade. A spear? I grabbed the pole and tried to break it off my hand.

"Groaahrr!" I roared in pain. The spear remained straight and attached to my hand. I opened my jaws, about to bite off my hand. I'd regenerate it anyway. But the spear swooshed back into it, reminding me of sucking a spaghetti strand, though this was straight instead of feeling like a noodle. My wound began to close. But rage bubbled inside me, urging me to hunt for whoever hurt me. Where was the bastard? Somewhere nearby, according to my instincts. Ahead. A few blocks that way. Continue forward. My prey was there!

Strong prey that would present a challenge, making the meal more rewarding. Don't let the rage take over. My powers kicked in because of my injury. Having encountered this sensation several times before, I was prepared to quell it. Stay away from the Corebrings. Good that my power told me where they were. I pivoted and dashed back to the edge of the building. The plan was to drop down and hide from the bird. It might have something to do with the spear.

But I was able to take only a few steps when the damned spear burst out of my left kneecap. Extending diagonally, it embedded itself deep into the rooftop. I stomped my right foot down to stop myself from falling forward due to my momentum. At the same time, I tried to jump up with the force of the stomp, hoping to pull the spear out of the roof. The spear held firm, nailing me down. Cement cracked around the spear. The person on the other end continued to exert force, stabbing it downwards.

"Rhraoargh?" That's how this works? Such a bullshit power! I backed away from the spear. It grew out of me, so I should be able to leave it behind, right? Wrong! I couldn't move my knee past where the rest of the spear should be. It wasn't there, but it felt like it was. Something like a phantom spear that quantum tunneled through the fabric of spacetime to skewer me. Just throwing around sci-fi terms. I stomped my free foot on the ground.

If the spear was a fixed point in space, I'd just destroy the roof so it wasn't pinning me on anything. Cracks blossomed from the crater my foot made. Another stomp! I raised my foot. The spear retreated into my knee, causing me to tip forward. I caught my fall by shifting my footing. Huh…? The Corebring released me? Would he strike elsewhere? I held my head. Could he kill me by teleporting his spear through my brain? This was so unfair!

Nothing happened, except for the seagull flying in tighter circles as it descended. The bird adjusted its flight pattern, occasionally bisecting the circle. It was pointing me to the Corebring. Did he want to talk? He could've killed me instantly. If this was the way to survive, then… fine. Too bad I couldn't spout bullshit with my Blanchette mouth. I might be forced to return to my original body. In any case, as long as I didn't get instantly brain-skewered, I had a chance to survive.

I was confident I could talk my way out of this. Didn't seem logical, but I had blabbed my way through a lot of stuff tonight. This is going to be fun, I thought, heading to the Corebring. The seagull followed me. A new role! New people to meet! And the prospect of death that was thrilling. I was getting addicted to this game.