Transcendent Gene
Chapter 171: Moving Forth [1]

Chapter 171: Moving Forth [1]

It happened just like that.

Once he chose the assassination route, Moon Rabbit took him to a small planning room and told him his first target instantly.

"If you want to do it this way, it’s only because you don’t want to be trapped here long. Since it’s like that, I won’t waste time either."

Her goal wasn’t to recruit him, per se. Right now, she was vetting him to see if he was someone worth recruiting.

His reaction to their goals didn’t look bad. He didn’t seem like someone who blindly listened to what he was told.

But he also looked like he didn’t have any interest in joining the group.

’Well, friends are friends regardless.’

Whether he joined or not, what mattered most was his stance on the group. An ally was an ally regardless of how close they were.

Gio was briefed on his first target, a man who worked for a company called Genix, a subsidiary of Rotom Corp. According to the data Moon Rabbit showed him, his life was riddled with embezzlement and corruption. He was the picture of someone who would do anything if it meant earning another credit.

He had to be killed now because he’d tapped into dangerous waters.

He was now dealing with djinn groups and giving them information about the research being done at Genix. Gio wasn’t filled in on the exact details of that research, but he was given a location and a timeframe that would be best for the assassination.

He was also briefed on the man’s usual habits and routes; pretty much everything he needed to know to get the job done quietly.

He was taken back to the city the same way he left it by a new person, a man dressed like a ninja from ancient times who didn’t speak a single word.

This man was the "handler" who would accompany Gio for the duration of his missions.

’Rotom Corp is a company as big as Taurus-Rauth. Genix might just be an ordinary subsidiary, but Lunos is already aiming high by hitting anyone related to them.’

Gio didn’t plan to kill anyone mindlessly.

He took the time to search the [Memory Book]. Specifically for moments when he needed to remember names and details in the future, he’d spent a lot of time in his first life flipping through documents, files, books, and papers to accumulate a vault of knowledge.

Gio had a very high position in NEXUS before it collapsed. He was able to even sit in on meetings between the council as they made important decisions.

He had access to census data and directories that spanned generations. He also had access to the employee registers of companies like Rotom Corp, including those employed by their subsidiaries.

It took time, but so did the drive into the city. By the time they got there, he was able to find the man named, "Mark Fulhan."

’He died in an attack later on as an ordinary civilian casualty, but he was fired from Genix and jailed for a long time for embezzlement and fraud. As for his matters with djinns...’

Gio couldn’t confirm that it was true nor did he have the time to do so on this mission, but he saw several notes in Mark Fulhan’s file denoting suspicious changes in his behavior and views.

He had been radicalized by the time he was sent to jail and he was refused parole because those around him said he’d been threatening them.

’He certainly isn’t a good person.’

Gio wasn’t the adjudicator who decided if his actions right now were morally good or bad. Objectively, from the information he saw in the [Memory Book], Mark Fulhan looked more like someone to be watched than someone to be killed.

’Not that it’s a decision to be made anymore.’

The assassination itself was silent. Mark Fulhan was an ordinary person with a Cognitive Sequence that helped him push exhaustion off to keep his mind working. A stone filled with Hekat’s power was thrown at his head. When it touched his temple, it turned into a spike and impaled him, killing him instantly.

It was a quick, clean job that didn’t leave any traces. The air was filled with a trail of Aether rather than the energy of a Sequence, making it impossible to find the source.

And Mark Fulhan was only the first.

There was another target the same day, two more the next, and two more the day after that.

Every time, Gio was pulled into that same small room for a briefing. He spent the car ride into the city finding his target and confirming their crimes and then killed them.

Everything checked out. Only two of them had been confirmed djinn in the past, but all of them had laundry lists of crimes attached to their names.

Gio was never able to tell if they all deserved death, but he at least knew the type of people Lunos was targeting.

’They had six assassination missions just waiting. How many targets do they have?’

They couldn’t be correct every time. They couldn’t assassinate every target, because actions like those were exactly what turned the public against them.

When he wasn’t participating in assassinations, Gio was in the bunker with the people of Lunos. He fought in their octagons, watched their forges, and tested their mechs.

He could confidently say that the direction he saw in Lunos was not the wrong one.

’But it’s not the right one either.’

As Moon Rabbit explained, they had to realize through their own efforts what was right and what was wrong. The only way for them to reach a state where they can confidently say that every target was the right target was for a lot of time to pass.

’Either that, or someone points them in the right direction.’

Lunos was interesting. It was filled with freethinkers. Not all of them were kind or amiable people, but they were all extremely driven. The technology they were manufacturing was good, and the weapons made at their forges were more than impressive.

’I can’t actively be a part of a community like this.’

His overall plan didn’t allow him to join them and fight for their cause.

’But they’re also fighting for my cause, albeit in a different way.’

He couldn’t and wouldn’t join Lunos, but if he maintained a relationship with them and helped them along the way, they could become his eyes and ears in places he couldn’t reach.

’A mutually beneficial relationship.’

He traveled with a handler for most of his assassinations, but Moon Rabbit personally attended the last two after hearing the reports they made.

Usually, when he returned, Gio was left alone. This time, they went back to the same room and sat down.

Moon Rabbit sat across the table from him with a light smile playing on her lips.

"You really won’t join?"

She didn’t even ask if he wanted to. It was an unnecessary question.

"I can’t. There are other things I need to do," he said.

They both wore masks, making it impossible to read the other side’s face, but they felt like they could read what was being expressed despite the fact.

She looked at him with a strange look in her eyes.

"You said you go by Lynx," she said.

"I do."

"But we’ve looked for you. In all of Arcadia, there’s never been a single record of someone called Lynx."

"I could see that."

"You’re too skilled to be unrecorded."

"..."

Gio didn’t respond. She was asking an obvious question, but he wanted to see what she would say.

And the response that came was not the obvious question he thought was being asked.

Moon Rabbit sighed in understanding and nodded.

"The silence is enough. There are plenty of reasons why you’re unrecorded, but I’m not going to sit here and create a fake backstory for you in my head. If you end up telling us at some point, that’s that. Otherwise, I’ll just know you as Lynx."

Just as Gio watched Lunos, Lunos watched him. Moon Rabbit specifically kept her eyes on him enough to determine his character.

If he offered up the information, it would be a show of trust.

However, her decision to accept his silence was the same.

In the end, she reached the same conclusion he did.

They could work well together.

So there was no reason to keep acting wary.