John examined Bryan with great interest. That type of look was familiar to Bryan, so he didn't mind. He nodded in satisfaction after a few minutes. For a moment, their eyes met as John looked up from his body. That moment was all it took. His eyes narrowed at Bryan's, which remained cold and mechanical. A thick layer of tension filled the air. When the air got thickest, it disappeared, as if it had never existed. The first to break eye contact was John. His body turned away, causing Bryan to relax his tensed muscles. Phew, that was close. Did he snuff me out? Wait, if he actually wanted to, then-

Bryan would have to think about it later. With sudden momentum, John twisted his body back. Bryan got caught off guard by his sudden movement, causing him to stumble backwards. He could only see a fist heading towards his face, growing larger. As the wind whistled crisply, a gale of wind pushed the punch even further. Seeing his fist get closer, Bryan had no choice but to dodge. Using all his upper body strength, he leaned back with his stumble in a controlled manner. As half his body was parallel to the ground, Bryan stared up at the ceiling. The punch barreled its way into Bryan's line of sight. Making sure he dodged it completely, he fell backwards, landing on his rear.

For everyone else in the room, not a second had passed. Their vision was blurry, including Old Jacobs who was still smiling faintly. A loud thud sounded, drawing the attention of oblivious bystanders. Old Jacob's smile distorted into shock. In a loud voice, he exclaimed.

“John! What are you doing?”

Everybody jolted out of their reverie by his shout, rushing over to John. The expression on Bryan's face changed into shock and fear as he scrambled away from him. His eyes, however, still glowed with their metallic haze. As he stretched out his hand to Bryan, John didn't notice it.

“Sorry, just wanted to make sure you weren't part of the Red Vipers.”

Bryan had a wry smile. He grabbed his hand to pull himself up, shaking his hand.

“No worries. Are the Red Vipers another gang in the area?” Bryan asked with a blank look.

“Yeah, they are. Are we going to interview now?” John asked with a strange expression on his face. The situation was understandable to Bryan. He was about to die one minute, and the next, he was asking questions as if it never happened. However, this was what Bryan wanted to imprint on John's head: a reporter who would do anything for a story. Using the persona, he could express his calm temperament while acting accordingly. It wasn't something he could fake.

John led Bryan to a group of three people standing aside. A man of average build stepped forward. It was hard not to get irritated whenever he smiled. A scar covering his right eye, however, caught Bryan's attention. He finally recognized him after some time.

“Boss!”

The man laughed as he patted the back of the two people beside him.

“This is Andrew and Beck. I found them on the way back. They would make a great addition to the family.”

Though they were still on the thin side, Andrew and Beck looked much healthier. Despite meeting them for the first time, Bryan could tell they were simple people without any training whatsoever. They were rookies, poised for a chopping block. Bryan prayed internally for them before directing his attention back to the leading man.

“Good work. Start giving them basic training for the second clash. Also, Gerald, this is a reporter who came for a story. He'll be here for a while. Give him a room.”

“Sure Boss.”

After patting Bryan's shoulder twice, John walked away towards Old Jacob. Old Jacob's firm nod prompted Bryan to nod back before facing the group in front of him. Gerald sent him a stupid smile, which he ignored. Bryan remembered seeing Gerald on the battlefield the night he died. Although Bryan thought he looked like a dumb ape, his combat ability wasn't something to laugh at. Remembering him bathed in blood, slaughtering everyone in sight, sent chills down his spine. It was a night he would never forget. In the end, Bryan decided to put Gerald's issue to one side. In a neutral tone, he spoke.

“I'm a bit tired. Could you show me the room? I can carry my stuff.”

Gerald's bright smile contrasted with his menacing scar, creating an unsettling picture. Gerald nodded as he walked towards the hall. Bryan, Beck, and Andrew followed suit. They turned several times until they reached the end of the hallway.

Rookies, I expect you out on the field early tomorrow. We need you to be up to par with the others. A big storm is coming.” As Gerald spoke, his tone changed sharply, unlike his usual tone. Bryan was deep in thought as Andrew and Beck nodded seriously in response to his seriousness. Bryan closed the door after saying goodbye to the others. Before stowing his equipment under his bed, he checked it. After the conversation, he sat on the stiff bed, modifying his plan according to what he had learned.

Another war is coming? Looks like neither party got wiped out completely after the first one. Maybe I could spark it sooner, finishing them all altogether.

As Bryan's rough plan took shape, details began to emerge. Then he looked toward the door.

Are those two going to change anything?

Despite his lack of mastermind status, he at least had to take into account unknown variables. Being right across his room, they would be able to inform John promptly if they caught wind of his plan. As a result, his plans would be greatly hindered, making things even more difficult.

It's fine as long as I don't raise suspicion.

Bryan opened his status, seeing the pale blue screen once more. BRYAN HAYES LV 2 90/200 EXP CODEX: VIRUSX (Basic) I haven't leveled up once. The system is unhelpful as usual. Since leaving on his trip, Bryan had not created any programs or hacked anything. Although he gained a considerable amount of experience coding viruses, it was far from what he wanted. Looking for something even remotely useful, he scoured the Codex. Having accumulated a larger amount of funds, Bryan had been able to unlock one more skill for his level. He took a closer look. MACHINE INTERCEPTION: ALLOWS HACKER TO CODE A JAMMER THAT INTERCEPTS MACHINES IN A CERTAIN RADIUS FOR A LIMITED AMOUNT OF TIME. THE HIGHER THE PROFICIENCY, THE LARGER THE RADIUS AND THE LONGER IT WILL STAY ACTIVE. THIS SKILL HAS A COOLDOWN OF FIVE MINUTES. LV 2 REQUIRED. 100 CRYPTS This looks interesting. How does it work though? Machines is a broad term. Well, might as well find out. Not that I have much of a choice anyway. Despite his doubts, he bought it. He heard a familiar thudding sound as his balance declined. Seeing the lone book lying in the middle of the room, Bryan focused his attention on it. He walked over and picked it up. The book was identical to the last one. He sat back down and opened the book. Again, the strange runes appeared to glow and dim, as if they were alive. After reading the book for two hours, he closed it. This shouldn't be too difficult. Bryan had a difficult time understanding how to read the strange runes the first time he learned one of the skills. Now, it was a little easier to understand. Bryan pulled out his laptop and opened the console. Based on what he had read, he began typing. He gave up after a dozen unsuccessful attempts. Although I understand it easier, that doesn't mean I can execute it. Looks like I have to spend a couple of days on this as well. I wonder if I can get it before the war. That's ideal. Bryan needed to spend the day analyzing the Blue Wolves and the night coding. Red Vipers' thought process had been ingrained long ago, and he didn't need to analyze them. Having confirmed everything in his mind, Bryan now needed to wait for the right moment to start the war. Even though he planned everything out, there would always be unexpected variables. The young man will learn that the hard way. *** The Main Room. John sat down on a wooden chair. Despite its creaking under his hefty weight, he paid no attention to its pain. With a dirty cloth in hand, John wiped the two short daggers clean. As Gerald squinted in pain, the silver sheen blinded his remaining eye. Waiting for John to initiate the conversation, he did not speak. It's always been that way. When Gerald was in front of others, he kept up his merry act, but he would become a completely different person when he was alone. He stood straight, his hands clasped behind his back. His chest puffed out and collapsed at an even rate. Only the rustle of the cloth against the dagger's blade could be heard. There was a long silence, which worried Gerald that he might have done something wrong. John's voice projected into the silent room, relieving the tension in his body. “Gerald, report.” “Boss. The Red Vipers are on the move. They also seem to be preparing. I've seen a couple of scouts in the area, but they didn't come close. Our scouts have also reported back about their situation. It seems that Brock…” Gerald hesitated to speak further, which surprised John. When he hesitated to speak, it usually meant that something was wrong. Gerald waited for John to allow him to continue. At a glance, their relationship looked more professional. Yet, Gerald knew it was anything but. John grew up with him in Great Colows. Gerald always saw himself as his younger brother, which led him to become his right-hand man. What was strange was they were the same age. John jolted him out of his trance when he remembered their childhood. The look he had was solemn, and Gerald adopted it as well. “Mhm, continue.” “Right. Our scouts found a few soldiers with explosives attached to them. I think they'll use them as human grenades in the field.” When he finished, a loud thud hit the wooden table. Gerald could only look down, his hands curled into tight fists. Brock was a friend of Gerald's for a long time. They were on opposing sides as the leader of the Red Vipers, but it wasn't always that way. Brock, Gerald, and John were all childhood friends. When they were younger, they were close, but naturally drifted apart as they grew older. Gerald wanted to go back to the way things were. Unfortunately, the damage had been done. He could only hope they would reconcile and work together, but that seemed like a pipe dream.