Transcendent Gene
Chapter 51: Early Reunion [5]

Chapter 51: Early Reunion [5]

For Gio, the request came out of nowhere, but with the context of the situation, it was impossible for him to have deciphered the screens wrong.

Plus, if he thought about it for a second, he could make some sense of it.

’They’ve been watching me.’

This was his third meeting with them, but they had been following him ever since the first time.

Even if all they saw was his training outside of Gastle, he would look like a talent to them.

But it wasn’t enough reason for them to consider him as an addition to their team. He had no choice but to question it.

"You..." he said.

"...want me to join you?"

Raymond didn’t make him wait for confirmation.

"That’s right, but it’s not as serious as it sounds," he said.

"After observing you for this bit of time, I’ve confirmed that you’re a talent worth nurturing. The Wasteland isn’t a place with enough opportunities to help someone like you grow into a real warrior."

As Raymond spoke, a crew member walked up and whispered something in his ear. Soon after, he motioned to Gio and led him out of the control room without stopping his speech.

"Those opportunities are present in the higher Strata, and if you have some experience working with a team of my caliber, it’ll be much easier for you to reach those places and accomplish great things."

That much was fine. Gio also knew that this was the case for most people. A lot of talents in the Wasteland either died or were left to waste away.

He had his own route to the Upper Strata planned, so he didn’t necessarily need the help. More importantly, did any of these things tell him why Raymond wanted him on the team?

"You’re not such a selfless person," he said, squinting his eyes.

"I’m not," Raymond answered.

"But in this case, your growth will also benefit me. I don’t plan to lock you into anything, but I want you to become a great Sequencer and join my team. If you don’t join it, I want you to support it. That’s selfish enough, isn’t it?"

"It is, but it depends too much on me actually becoming someone great. If that doesn’t happen, you’d be doing this for nothing."

"Yeah, I’d be doing this for nothing, but it’s nothing more than having you accompany us for a bit, isn’t it? What’s the harm?"

Gio raised a brow at Raymond’s shrugging form.

"I thought you wanted me to join the team?"

Raymond’s eyes widened a little.

"Ah, right, I forgot that part," he said sheepishly.

"I want you to join our team, but only on a temporary basis. For the next year or so, we’ll be in the Wasteland dealing with an assortment of miscellaneous tasks before we go back to base. I want you to accompany us for that period and be a part of the team."

"And afterward?"

"Afterward. I’ll give you a letter of recommendation and a contact. It’ll be up to you to do the rest."

To reach the Upper Strata using only that much was impossible. It was as if Raymond said it to make Gio back down.

’But if he’s going to guarantee it, that contact must be someone important.’

On top of that, even without those things, Gio could still make it to where Raymond wanted him.

’A period of a year is perfectly aligned with my plans. Plus, what I can gain from it is more than just a connection...’

If he were to work with a military organization, he would need to be given a rank even if just for procedural purposes.

’Every deed performed by someone with a rank that contributes to the extermination of beasts and monsters or the protection of humanity gains them points. With enough points, anyone can raise their rank without the need for a formal promotion.’

It was a system designed to prevent corruption. It worked for a long time, and it was still in place, allowing anyone to gain a position in the military with power and determination alone.

Gaining clearance for information was different, as it required vetting and various processes that verified one’s trustworthiness. Still, in most cases, people who could reach the higher ranks where such confidentiality started to matter would be granted clearance regardless.

They were too important to humanity to lose because they believed they weren’t being trusted.

It was a good system for a long time. Its flaws didn’t start to show until much later.

Problems first arose when the people who reached high ranks and gained their clearances were just as corrupt as the ones who came before them. Those problems reached a hopeless state when the number of corrupt officials and high-ranking officers became overwhelmingly larger than the number of good ones.

Gio’s eyes hardened as he followed the train of thought.

There was only one reason for him to be as cautious as he was after regressing.

It wasn’t because he was some overcautious maniac. It also wasn’t because he wanted to pointlessly justify his actions.

No, the single reason why he had to make sure that each piece of information coming out of his mouth reached the right ears only.

There were traitors in the upper ranks of humanity.

He didn’t know who they were, but he knew that if it weren’t for them, humanity’s downfall wouldn’t have been nearly so expedited.

Forming a relationship with Raymond was enough to gain access to some things, but if he built up his own rank and gained his own clearances...

He needed to be close to the system if he wanted to change it. He needed to operate within the scope of those traitors so he could reveal them before they did damage.

He had a method in mind before, but this would create a much better scenario.

There wasn’t a reason for him to deny the offer.

"You plan to spend a year doing miscellaneous tasks?"

"Well, for now, you can just think of it like that."

’So they do have a goal.’

His own goals were most important, but he was curious about this team as well. Raymond, Natalia, and those other two men were all people who seemed too talented to remain nameless.

Yet, Gio didn’t hear anything about them.

’They must have died early.’

If they died before accomplishing anything real, it made sense.

To save the heroes of humanity so they could save humanity itself.

That was Gio’s main task.

Since they had a real goal here, he could use this time to determine if they were such people as well.

"A year?"

"A year."

"Can I fight?"

"There won’t be many things you can fight without dying, but if you find one, sure."

"You won’t tell me what we’re actually doing?"

"If you can figure out the overall situation, I’ll tell you the details. The parts I can say, at least."

"Deal."

He still didn’t think the justification was good enough, but Gio still accepted the offer. Unless Raymond planned to kill him somehow, he didn’t see a downside.

And if that was really his goal, there were much easier methods, weren’t there?

Raymond held his hand out, and Gio shook it without hesitation.

It was the start of what would become a very memorable collaboration.

However, first, Gio had to return to Gastle and get chewed out by the Old Lady.

He already accepted it as fate.

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