Transcendent Gene
Chapter 172: Moving Forth [2]

Chapter 172: Moving Forth [2]

They spoke for a while.

Gio and Moon Rabbit had a good understanding of each other despite not knowing each other for long.

They were similar types of people, after all. They thought differently and chased different things, but their thought processes were more alike than different.

"I won’t join Lunos, but that doesn’t mean I want nothing to do with it. If you ever need help with anything, call me. If you have missions that I want to do, I’ll do them."

Once he’d said that much, the conversation became much more amicable.

He didn’t know how much his opinion meant to them, but if he had advice, he just wanted Moon Rabbit to consider it.

She wasn’t the leader of the organization. Gio hadn’t met or seen anyone who could be called such a thing. However, within the bunker, she was queen.

The conversation came to a gradual and natural end. They’d established a relationship. Anything else was a matter for the future.

"I guess this is the first time you’re going to see the bunker from the outside. You excited?" Moon Rabbit said as they approached the car.

When he said he wanted to return to Helix, she personally offered to drive him. He, naturally, accepted, leading them here.

"I am," he responded honestly.

"It’s been confusing me ever since the first time we entered. I have to see it for myself so my mind can be at peace."

"Hahaha, a lot of people say that. It’s hard not to question it when it’s this big."

As expected, the abandoned nightclub didn’t exit into a parking lot, but instead into a garage.

The garage exited through a long ramp that slowly inclined and led them to the surface.

Almost unbelievably, they were still in the city.

It wasn’t Helix, but one of the cities surrounding it. The roof at the end of the ramp was also the ground of a parking garage hidden away between several buildings. It was full of cars despite it being late at night, but that was just a front to hide what was underneath.

For a bunker of that size to exist beneath Helix...

’How did they even find it?’

Gio shook his head with a dumbfounded expression as they drove back into the city. A thirty-minute drive filled with casual conversation was all it took.

"This is your stop," Moon Rabbit said as the car came to a halt on the side of the street.

"It’s been fun getting to know you. Come over sometimes. I know you tried to keep to yourself, but surprisingly, a lot of people like you. There were a couple who came and asked me if you were joining."

It was certainly an unexpected sentiment, but not an unwelcome one.

Gio nodded with a smile as he got out of the car.

"I’ll make sure to do exactly that," he said.

He stepped out, turning around to face the car.

"Oh, and about that goal of yours..."

She called it a goal others would think of as a stupid dream.

But that goal...

"The one I’m aiming for is even higher, so never think of it as nothing more than a stupid dream."

Anyone fighting for the same cause as him was someone to be supported.

They were his support system, the foundation upon which his beliefs would spread and impact the world as a whole.

None of them could give up. Not until he did.

Moon Rabbit looked into his eyes, mild astonishment present on her face. She quickly wiped it away and replaced it with a grin.

"Alright, then. From now on, it’s not a stupid dream. It’s something that will absolutely happen in the future."

"Yeah, that’s more like it."

With satisfaction in his tone, Gio swung the door closed, waving goodbye to Moon Rabbit.

As he watched her return his farewell and drive away, he pulled his thoughts away from Lunos.

He’d acquired another piece he could slowly turn into a powerful weapon.

And now, he was on his way to find another one.

***

"Missed me?"

Klude didn’t even know Gio knew where he lived. The look on his face when Gio appeared at his window was priceless.

He panicked for quite a while. It was relatively late at night, and in the comfort of his own home, Klyde didn’t make any attempts to mask or disguise himself.

For the first time, his face was revealed in full. It was a big deal for him.

But it was a big deal for him alone. Gio had to work with Klyde quite often for a period of two or three years. He had seen that face more than enough times.

Nevertheless, when the chaos ended, Klyde eventually told Gio to go to the front door and granted him entry from there.

"I don’t remember telling you where I live."

"That’s true, you didn’t, but that’s beside the point," Gio said.

"We need to get to your lab right now. It’s important."

Klyde’s expression shifted.

"You got it?" He asked with stern eyes.

"You’ll have one less coworker from tomorrow onward."

"..."

Klyde was silent for a moment.

"Let’s go."

And then, it was as if they’d teleported to the lab. He drove so fast Gio was actually flabbergasted that they didn’t get stopped.

They moved through the candle shop and into the main lab, following several corridors and going down a floor before they arrived at Klyde’s personal lab space.

Klyde shut the door and locked it behind him. He went and pressed a button under his desk, causing a small green light to appear on the side of his computer.

"Okay," he said with a nod, taking his hood off.

"Show it to me."

He was shaking with anticipation, but he still waited until they had privacy to show any emotion.

Now that they were here, his patience was gone.

Gio grinned. He had pulled the vial out of his Storage Hole prior since he didn’t want to openly show off his wealth. He took it out of his jacket and handed it over to Klyde.

"Here she is. This is all that’s left of the one you knew as Anastasia."

A writhing grey tar worm that had been barely preserved by the conditions inside the Storage Hole.

It moved much slower than it did when Gio collected the sample. There was no doubt that it would die soon if not properly handled.

Klyde took the vial with care, bringing it up to his face.

The euphoria in his chest as he looked at it, confirming that it was truly a piece of what was once a living being, was unimaginable.

With this, he could erase the stigma on his back.

With this, he could proudly reclaim his name.

With this, the ambition he once held could finally return to his body.

Or, well, he believed that until Gio dumped a bucket of cold water on his head.

"You can research it however you want and make whatever you want, but for now, you can’t reveal your research to the world."

He had to remain hidden. He could not yet let go of the shame and burden he bore.

Because if he told the world right now what he’d discovered, the world would silence him.

The only way to win on such a tipped playing field was to bide time and grow in the shadows, striking at the final and most opportune moment.

And when it was time for that moment to come, Gio would bring it into existence himself.

Everything had to flow perfectly to achieve the victory he’d imagined.