Frank nodded. "The earth crumbles as the gods fight, huh? But you see, even the gods have a pecking order—and you have no chance of hurting civilians with your measly skillset.""Is that so?" The middle-aged woman laughed. "Then show me what got you such a cocky attitude!"With those words, she disappeared, the rags she was wearing soon fluttering and dropping off."You seem quite knowledgeable," she then spoke, her voice coming from seemingly every direction. "Then why don't you tell me what this ability of mine is?"Frank chuckled. "Why? What is it if not soul projection? And let me guess—all you can see is the void right now, no? But that's alright—allow me to add some colors for you!"With those words, Frank disappeared too, but his clothes disappeared along with him, unlike the middle-aged woman.The android head was left shocked and promptly activated its scanners but detected nothing.It was as if those two had disappeared from existence entirely!"Not that hard to find
Flabbergasted, the android head was unsure how it should react to that. "But why? She lost, and so be it—she just had to try again. Why end her own life?"Frank chuckled. "Did you think that she's the type who perseveres like you?"See, the more prideful they are, the less able they are to accept the harshness of reality. It's only natural she would take her own life."Also, I'm sure she heard of what I did. If she fell into my hands, things would only get worse for her."The android head seemed to flinch. "You're kidding. Are you going to kill me too?""That depends on what you're really like." Frank chuckled, shaking his head.The android head did not need to breathe but gasped nonetheless. "Thank goodness I appreciate the value of life instead of being dismissive. Hell, I never took a life."Frank nodded. "Well, are you going to show me your base now, Ms. Junek?"The android head appeared shocked again. "How did you know my name?""Who else would you be?" Frank chuckled. "H
Frank nodded in understanding but was surprised that Corus had been so honorable in his younger days. "Now that you've mentioned it, you were tracking him down to kill him?"Yancy nodded. "I wanted to meet you since you beat me to it, so imagine my surprise when I saw how strong you were. It seems that I am really lacking."Then, she suddenly reached out to pinch the back of Frank's hand, exclaiming in curiosity, "Why is your skin so tough but so soft to the touch? Strange."Frank chuckled, knowing what she was getting at. "In video game terms, my skin is a passive skill that stops everything on its own without activation."Yancy nodded again. "Then can I take a sample for research?"She flinched as Frank smiled, shaking his head. "No way! Are you really that stingy? You just drank my Dom Perignon too, and it's way more expensive than the more popular crap. Pretty please? Can you do me a solid?"Frank still shook his head, but he soon said, "I guess I could, but on one condition.
Frank smiled in wry amusement. "You're just gaslighting yourself!"Yancy shook her head. "No, I'm not. Junior's programming isn't paired with the RV directly, which means she isn't using the car's equipment to determine how to drive on the road ahead. Also, mechanical locomotion is safer than electronic locomotion."Frank nodded, as that much was true.Computer chips used in cell phones and personal computers are hardly military-grade, and certainly not top of the line.It was simple—it was so accurate and precise that it was pointless to most military applications, and the fact that it was erroneous put it on ice.As for the android, Frank could see that it was far more incredible than he imagined.To put it simply, it was programmed to speak and react like an average person.Other programmed machines such as robot dogs or chess computers are so good at their jobs they could beat humans at it, but they hardly resembled an ordinary person like Yancy Jr. It seemed that they each
Yancy continued, "From the results of my experiments, the so-called vampires are a unique lifeform that could extract a special energy from their victim's blood, and that energy is what gives the martial artists power."The werewolves are even more interesting, as they directly absorb virtual particles! You probably haven't heard of the term, but it's the source of electromagnetism, one of the fundamental forms of energy."Frank barely understood half of it and therefore gave up on asking, closing his eyes to nap while waiting for the test results.That was when the entire lab quaked violently, and Frank quickly opened his eyes, asking, "What happened?""What else could have happened?" Yancy laughed. "We're under attack! Debts must be paid!""Debts?""Indeed! Even people as strong as you are attacked over reprisals, y'know, let alone me."Just as she finished, the entire lab shook again and began to tilt towards the southwestern end.Horrified, Yancy promptly tapped on the secu
With the assistance of such tools, Jace could narrow the gap between himself and powerful martial artists as much as possible!However, Frank spread his arms, exclaimed impatiently, "Come on, let me try your serum!"Both Yancy and Jace were left in disbelief by his reaction, with Jace asking, "You're joking, aren't you?"How conceited could this man be, asking to test a serum that could kill him? It was almost amusing!"No, I'm not!" Frank snapped impatiently. "Let's get started already—I'm a busy man, so don't waste my time!"Here he was, waiting with open arms for Jace to test his serum, but Jace somehow failed to understand words for a moment. What was that if not a waste of time?Jace smirked in turn, presuming right then Frank was crazy and therefore gave up on debating the issue at all.And since he could make the serum, he could definitely concoct an antidote—he would just have to save Frank's butt when things got bad.Hence, without another word, he waved his hand.T
Jace refused to believe the reality he was seeing, instead believing that Frank was bound by the rules of science. He was confident beyond a shadow of doubt that he could defeat anything standing before him!But at the same time, he had this nagging feeling that Frank's abilities surpassed the boundaries of known science and utilized a subjective energy. On its own, it could distort the rules that governed the physical world, but at once had to be proven and undiscovered."There has to be a reason… my system must have developed an error with the lack of resources! That's why it couldn't concoct a serum that would suppress your regeneration! That must be it! I'm taking you with me!"Nonetheless, with his faith refuted and his refusal to lose, those crushing emotions drove him over the brink.Now, he just wanted Frank as his lab rat!Suddenly, training his cannon barrels at Frank, it launched countless puffs of white smoke that quickly shrouded Frank.It was a strange smoke tha
Martial artists could do what most others could not thanks to a certain energy, which likened them to the paranormal elements in myths. Even so, they were still fundamentally governed by the laws of science.However, while it seemed like there was a logic governing those miracles, the readings on Jace's system showed that Frank was not using any form of energy!As Frank slowly landed, he put the lab gently on the ground before walking up to Yancy. "Tell me what's the story here."Yancy smiled. "A lot of bad blood! Remember that skin graft? I got it from him… or his lab subject, to be precise."Frank shrugged. "What's the difference?"Yancy sighed and explained, "We're both researchers, but I try to do right by everyone, and I won't experiment on subjects against their consent, unless they're very bad people."Otherwise, I would try to entice and cajole, or get clingy—not exactly a nice way to do it, but it's at least moral."That's not the case for him—if the subject doesn't con
With Frank's super-senses, anything he could not detect would most probably not come up in Yancy's scanners.With that in mind, she decided not to bother—they were all going to die eventually anyway, so what was there to fear?Moreover, it was the truth that Frank was so strong he would not lose to anyone.-The next morning, as Yancy woke up, she rubbed her eyes and called out Frank's name.There was no response.Terrified, she promptly got outside, but saw Frank simply standing there, staring coolly up in the skies.Yancy followed his gaze, and saw that for some reason, her lab was in free fall!"W-What's going on?!" Yancy exclaimed in shock.Her lab was supposed to be hidden in the clouds! Who could have knocked it down?And Frank was right there with her. How powerful would they be if they dared to do it while he watched?Noticing the look on her face, Frank chuckled. "What, are you doubting me now? Don't worry—I'm letting it fall on purpose!"Yancy was proposed. "But i
Knowing that his death was assured, Cicero gave up on begging and instead dissed Frank. "Do you really have what it takes?""You're doubting me, it seems."Frank chuckled. "To be honest, I would be content with you watching from hell, but I'm afraid death is permanent. So thanks to what you've said, I've decided to let you live a couple more days, just to show you what I can do to your friends!"Cicero was at once surprised and delighted—that was simply wonderful!Whether or not he survived it, just seeing Frank die would be enough!After all, his wit was so repulsive the way he made Cicero look like a fool!Ignoring Cicero, Frank stepped out with Yancy, who asked, "So how do we find Mrs. Garand?"From the looks of things, they wouldn't be staying in touch—they'd be dead if their creditors found out.""For sure," Frank replied, nodding. "But word would spread either way, and I doubt Mrs. Garand's hunters won't come calling."Yancy frowned. "What do you mean…?"Frank whipped o
Yancy nodded in understanding.In the end, Cicero's conscience was eating him up—as soon as he decided Frank was hostile, he took action.If he did not, he just had to insist he lost the money at an illegal casino no matter how Frank tried to probe.Frank could not do anything against that, and certainly not torture him.Moreover, Cicero was no tough guy.As Frank locked him in his own room, he realized that Frank really had a way to save Yancy.Giving up on pointless resistance, he shouted, "I'll talk! I'll tell you everything! Just let me go!"Frank went over to his room, asking, "You could've just done that earlier. So tell me, why the elaborate scheme? What's it for?"Cicero suddenly seemed to find his spine again. "It's a very important secret. I can't really tell you…"Frank glowered in annoyance. "Then you can die with it.""Wait, wait, wait!" Cicero promptly cried. "I'll talk, okay?"T-The truth is that my wife was never dead, but she's being targeted by people much
In other words, the so-called debt was just an excuse—Cicero had another reason to kill.Frank continued talking to him, just to distract him while he examined every corner of the house with his superhuman senses.After a couple of exchanges, Cicero invited them to stay, even serving them tea.Once he left the room, Yancy scowled. "I scanned our surroundings with my glasses—nothing."Seeing that she blamed herself, Frank smiled and bumped her on the head. "It's not just you—I sensed nothing too. This isn't as clear-cut as murder slash insurance fraud… there are plenty of fishy things that we need to dig out."Yancy frowned. "Now that's a bother, and I'm no detective!"Frank chuckled. "Me neither, but we can do what we do best to close this case anyway.""What's that?" Yancy asked.Frank smiled but said nothing.When Cicero returned with the tea, Frank twirled the cup but did not drink it.Instead, he asked, "Mr. Garand, how did you lose your money?"Cicero sighed. "Bad luck,
Smiling, Frank said, "Alright, then you boys carry on. We'll be going now—and don't worry, we definitely have no dealings with Cicero."Seeing Frank's promise, the pudgy man nodded, indicating that he believed Frank.They were not thugs anyway, and there was no reason to stop them from going anywhere they wanted without evidence.Once they had gone far enough, Yancy asked, "Since you've put it that way, why are we still going into Cicero's house?"His creditors have it hard, and we're deceiving them too. Things might really get bad if they catch us."She was no villain and obviously did not want those men to feel hurt or to betray their trust.Frank chuckled. "Why do you think I'd say that?"He led Yancy near a house, and before she said another word, put a hand on her shoulder and disappeared together.It was a firsthand experience of soul projection for Yancy, and she quickly felt obsessed with the feeling that she was one with everything around her.If she could, she would
The owner continued outside as he assured Yancy, "Don't worry, lady. I have a little experience myself, and I know that good people like you are rare."Yancy smiled but said nothing and turned to Frank after the owner left. "He's really lucky to have run into us. Anyone else would've screwed him over and then some."Frank nodded. "That's why I stand with justice. Who knows what baddies are out there, ruining people's lives where we can't see."Yancy smiled wryly, nodding but saying nothing.Frank then extended his super senses and found that the blood on the knife matched that of the deceased that they had found earlier.But for some reason, there were no fingerprints.While Frank was puzzled, Jouri texted details on the fingerprint they found, which matched a dead man's!Yancy frowned. "No way… could the deceased's spirit have been lying to us? Or is Jouri being the scamp that she always has been and trying to mess with us?"Frank smiled, "You worry too much. Her personality h
Horrified, the owner instinctively leaned toward Frank. "Please don't tell me this is real, man. I mean, is my restaurant really being haunted in broad daylight?!"Despite Frank's youth, the owner found a sense of security just staying at his side.Yancy, who had been drawn there for some time, spoke before Frank could. "What do you mean haunted? Check this out!"She took out a box for wireless earphones, but instead of having earphones inside, it was a bunch of virtually invisible bugs.They took to the air obediently, following her gesture to pick up an ashtray from the table, and flew off!The owner nodded in understanding. "So you're saying someone was using advanced technology to fly that knife in here? But why would they do that? Did they really have to go that far to frame a small business owner like me?"Yancy shrugged. "They really didn't have to go that far, but it's a clear motive if they want to avoid being a suspect at all. Anyway, you have nothing to worry about—con
Yancy was absolutely perplexed. "How did you do that?"Frank chuckled. "Do you believe in the paranormal?"Yancy shook her head confidently.The paranormal and science were two completely contradictory subjects.Strictly speaking, anything that could be seen with the naked eye or directly affected the physical plane was not paranormal. Still, while science was fundamentally a counter-thesis to mysticism, anything that worked within a system of logic fell within its jurisdiction.Frank shrugged. "It's good if you don't believe it. I don't myself—but I am using a paranormal technique to conjure that fingerprint, which was supposed to be erased."Yancy was utterly confused. "What does that mean?"Frank explained, "I'm not sure if you've seen bodies of energy resembling spirits, but they linger within a body, retaining the deceased's last thoughts to a certain extent!"Yancy nodded in understanding.There was some form of energy that lingered within the deceased.But with Frank's
Frank was unsure if she should laugh or cry. "Not mentioning something doesn't mean that I didn't notice it. And I could've saved you even without leaving the white-clad priest."If anyone else said that, Yancy would be convinced that they were lying.But since it was Frank, the strongest lifeform she had ever encountered yet, saying that was almost humble of him!Still, her protective glasses flashed as she checked the yellow talisman, scanning it. "There's nothing special about it! Both the scanner in my glasses and my eyes say so.""Now, back to my question." Frank chuckled. "Is science failing, or is the person?"Yancy's face fell—curse this man and all his teasing!Soon, they landed.There just happened to be a cleaner sweeping the curb, and his knees buckled and fell when he saw Frank and Yancy descending from the skies.Frank quickly put Yancy on her feet while rushing up to him, chuckling. "It's alright. We're not evil—don't worry."It took a while of assurance for the