Awakening: God-Tier Adaptive System
Chapter 65: Open Hunt Part 4

Chapter 65: Open Hunt Part 4

After he was done practicing with the pen, Neo glanced at it and sighed.

It was getting a little too effective.

If he kept going like this, one day some mafia boss was going to tell a wild story—"He killed three men in a bar with a pen. With a fucking pen!"

Neo rubbed his face, muttering, "No one’s going to take me seriously if my deadliest weapon is office supply."

He stood up and scanned the room for something more intimidating.

After rummaging through a few drawers, he found a small fruit knife.

It was small and sharp enough to be controlled easily. Just the right balance.

Neo placed it on the desk in front of him. He backed away a few steps, then focused.

The knife hovered at eye level.

Neo moved it quickly to the right, then to the left. A small grin formed on his face.

SWOOOOSH!

The knife cut through the air, stopping mid-flight before spinning again and changing direction awkwardly.

He had been at it for 10 minutes focusing all his attention on controlling the knife with nothing but his mind.

Telekinesis wasn’t just about lifting objects. It was about understanding weight, balance, and momentum. The moment his focus slipped, the blade would either drop or shoot off in a random direction.

It was stable now.

But it wasn’t enough for him.

’I’ll be better if it’s faster and more responsive,’ he muttered under his breath, eyes tracking the flight path.

Then something clicked in his mind.

’What if I’m doing this wrong?’

He paused, letting the knife float in place. The idea sounded odd at first. But the more he thought about it, the more it made sense.

What if he used his hand to control it better?

Neo raised his right hand slowly. The blade responded immediately, shifting forward as if tethered to his palm by an invisible string.

He tested it.

Ponting to the left - the knife responded instantly, moving to the left.

Point to the Right - it followed seamlessly, its movement smooth and fluid.

The reaction time was many times faster. The feedback loop between his brain, hand, and blade felt natural.

’Interesting.’

He flicked his wrist. The knife darted toward the far wall, then curved back like a boomerang and stopped inches from his chest.

Neo reached out with his other hand and caught it midair.

"This is better than I expected,"

The improvement was significant. He no longer needed to strain as hard.

His fingers served as a medium for his concentration, a physical focus point that translated his thoughts faster

But he also noticed a flaw.

’If someone watches my hand, they’ll know where the knife is going.’

The drawback was obvious. Anyone with decent observation skills could track his hand and predict the movement path.

He needed to find a way around that.

Maybe mix it up. Fake movements. Sudden pauses. Random gestures to throw off his opponent’s read.

But that was for another time.

They had been overstaying in this office for far too long.

Sooner or later, someone was going to knock on the door.

Neo leaned back in his chair, a thoughtful expression on his face. "You know, we could just escape from here and be done with it."

Lyra nodded silently, anything he say was okay with her.

"But if we do that," he continued, "everyone will be suspicious tomorrow. They’ll conduct a manhunt right away, and it’ll be all over the town that Dominic was killed.."

"Worst case, they’ll send someone powerful to figure out who killed him," he tightened his grip on the ID.

"And we used his things... so they basically have record of us."

The ID that was given to them was a double-edged sword.

It got them through locked doors, past guards, and into restricted areas—but it also left a digital trail behind.

If the secret organization helping them really wanted to stay hidden, they wouldn’t want the higher-ups knowing fake IDs even existed, let alone being used.

’This might still be a part of the test,’ he trailed off.

He stood up and began to pace around the room. "We need to come up with a plan to buy as some time."

His steps grew slower, more focused, as his mind pulled pieces together.

A few seconds passed. Then something clicked—an idea, risky but worth the shot.

"Let me handle everything," he announced confidently. "I have a plan."

CLICK!

The door opened, and Neo headed to the corridor alone, where the fluorescent lights overhead cast soft glow.

The mercenary team leader was waiting for him just along the corner, his eyes narrowed with suspicion.

"Sir...You’ve been in there for a long time. What took you so long?"

He could tell that the mercenary’s patience was wearing thin.

"Let’s talk," Neo gestured for him to follow.

The team leader hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do.

But Neo’s gaze was too intimidating, leaving no room for negotiation.

With a slight nod, he fell into step behind.

They walked down the corridor.

Finally, they reached a secluded corner, where the sound of distant voices and footsteps was muffled by the walls.

"Listen," Neo broke the silence. "I’ll only say this once and you are not allowed to tell anybody about this."

The mercenary wiped the sweat from his brow and nodded slowly. He couldn’t explain it, but whenever he listened to Neo, an odd feeling washed over him.

"Dominic was a suspect in a high-level investigation. We had reason to believe he was involved in some illegal activities."

The mercenary team leader raised an eyebrow.

"A suspect of a crime... I wasn’t aware of any ongoing investigations."

Neo shrugged nonchalantly. "It’s a top brass matter. You wouldn’t have been informed."

"So where is he now?"

"My partner already escorted him out of this place. We can’t have anyone know about this to avoid unnecessary scandal, so we have to do it in secret."

The words flowed smoothly from his lips, infused with a subtle conviction that made them harder to doubt.

His Silver Tongue skill was already proving its worth, increasing the chances of convincing others by 20%.

Of course, this boost to persuasion would plummet if he said something ridiculous, like the moon was red.

In other words, the Silver Tongue skill was most effective when used to reinforce a well-reasoned argument, rather than trying to sell a blatant lie.

The team leader’s eyes narrowed slightly as he processed it. He seemed to be weighing his options.

However--

His lack of knowledge about Awakeners’ protocols and procedures made him more inclined to accept the explanation at face value.

As a result, his initial skepticism gave way.

"I see...And what exactly do you want me to do?"

Neo smiled and leaned in closer.

"I will take his position for now until the Main Sector contact me for further instructions,"

"In the meantime, you should just tell everyone who asks that Dominic was called away on urgent business. So, they won’t be seeing him for a while."

"Okay, Sir." The team leader nodded.

"Good. Don’t worry. If you do your job right, I’ll write you a recommendation. If you’re lucky, you might even get transferred to the Main Sector."

The mercenary’s face lit up at the tempting offer, and he was glad he’d chosen to cooperate.

"Thank you, Sir," he said, bowing his head slightly.

"It’s nothing. By the way, I haven’t asked your name yet."

"Ah, yes, Sir. It’s Steven."

Neo pretended to contemplate but it was all for show.

"That’s a good name, easy to remember. Alright, from now on, you’ll report directly to me."

"Understood, Sir," Steven replied.

Neo’s smile grew slightly wider as he watched the gullible mercenary turned around and leave.

His plan was working out smoothly so far.

With that settled, he headed back to the office, where Lyra was waiting.

She looked up as he entered, her expression showing some concerned.

"Everything okay?" she asked quietly.

Neo nodded and smiled. "Yeah, everything’s fine. I think we’ve got this under control."

"But just to be safe, we need to make sure one of us is always awake and alert."

Lyra nodded slowly; her eyes fixed on his face.

"So, here’s what we’ll do," he continued.

"We’ll rotate our sleeping schedules. I’ll sleep for a few hours, and then you’ll wake me up and take a turn sleeping."

"That way, we can make sure we’re always covered. If anyone tries to sneak up on us, we’ll be ready."

She didn’t say anything, but he could tell she understood the plan.

It was so simple, even an idiot could understand it.

"We’ll start now," he said. "You will sleep first. I will keep watch and wake you up in a few hours."

She smiled slightly as she lay down on the sofa bed, feeling a sense of relief wash over her.

With him keeping watch, she could finally get some rest...