Transcendent Gene
Chapter 94: On The Hunt [2]

Chapter 94: On The Hunt [2]

When Gio reached the main area, the whole team was already gathered there. Their presence had nothing to do with why he was called, but it was still a surprise since it had been two months since he’d seen all of them together.

They still had the same atmosphere around them that they usually kept, but Gio didn’t miss the slightly grim looks in their eyes.

’Things are getting more serious, I guess.’

It wasn’t hard to reach that conclusion. The last event wasn’t a small concern that could be ignored. It wasn’t an "oopsie" that they could talk about and forget about.

There was a deeper issue in the Wasteland than what they originally planned to encounter.

Evidently, they were dealing with that issue now.

Gio’s eyes narrowed as he walked into the room and greeted them.

’Maybe that’s why I’ve never heard of them.’

He almost shivered as a sense of foreboding washed over him, but he quickly brushed it off when he heard Raymond’s voice addressing him.

"Gio? What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean? Amaya told me you called me here," he replied as if his thoughts were empty.

Raymond furrowed his brows for a second.

"Ah..."

He got too consumed in the conversation they were having. Without consciously trying to remember what he called Gio for, the information didn’t come to his head.

"I’m sure it was just some spiel about being safe," he said in the end.

He was too swamped with more important thoughts. His mind impatiently returned to them with every passing second, forcing him to give up on figuring it out.

"You already know everything. I don’t have to remind you to be cautious, especially since you’ll be moving with Amaya, but it’s a little reminder here and there is never a bad thing."

As Gio nodded, Raymond motioned to a door adjacent to the one he came in through.

"If you go down that way and take a left, you should find the armory. I’ll let Amaya do the rest of the talking."

"Okay. Thanks."

Gio kept his farewell short since his presence was clearly disrupting the conversation at hand.

There was a temptation in his mind to stay behind the door and listen to what they were discussing, but he decided against it.

’Now’s not the time.’

It would be stupid to assume he could eavesdrop on that group without being noticed. Their senses were too good.

’I’ll figure it out eventually. I don’t believe it’ll be foreign to me until I leave.’

Maybe that was Raymond’s impression, but as long as Gio was with them, it was virtually impossible to hide everything.

’He said a left...here?’

The corridor Gio entered after walking through that door was long and straight.

There weren’t any connecting halls to turn into, so Gio assumed he was talking about the large pressurized door he found on his left after walking a bit.

’Hmm...’

He glanced at the screen on the side of the door that was mirroring his appearance back to him. In front of it, there was a small pad with a fingerprint pattern etched into it.

"I think I know what Raymond forgot to tell me."

How was he supposed to get into an armory that couldn’t be opened without DNA recognition?

’Should I try...?’

He raised his arm, moving his thumb towards the pad when--

"Stop!"

Amaya appeared.

Her voice sounded like it came from down the hall, but by the time Gio’s neck snapped in that direction, she was already next to him grabbing his arm.

"Woah, there, kiddo!" She exclaimed, patting her chest in relief.

"Do NOT go around randomly touching scanners around this plane. That is the worst possible thing you could do."

"Oh..."

Gio made a sound of understanding.

"They’re armed?"

"Very armed."

"But wouldn’t that damage the plane?"

"This hallway is fortified. If the vault thinks you’re trying to break in, it’ll basically turn this whole hall into a blast oven and instantly incinerate you."

"..."

Gio looked at her with a strange expression.

That was a bit overkill, wasn’t it?

Amaya shrugged in response to his expression.

"It’s a multilayered system. It checks blood, fingerprint, Gene Code, and face. It doesn’t have any other information, but you’ve been on the ship long enough for it to know your face, so you wouldn’t have been incinerated."

"So I wouldn’t have been incinerated."

"Yeah, but the alarms would’ve gone off and they’re a pain to turn off. You’re looking at me like I’m joking, but that’s because you haven’t heard how loud this fu--"

Amaya paused for a second.

"Jax gave up?"

"Jax gave up."

"Those alarms are loud as shit. I don’t want to deal with them."

"Fair enough."

Gio smiled wryly as Amaya pushed her finger into the scanner and stood with her face clear in view.

A small needle came up and pricked her finger, taking her blood and DNA for analysis.

The Original Gene was contained in the Housing Area, but its influence spanned the entire body.

The so-called "Gene Code" was merely this; the trace of residual aura of an Original Gene that could be uniquely traced back to that Gene.

The Gene Code specifically referred to a trace of an Original Gene. Other Sequences also left traces, but they were easily distinguishable from the Gene Code.

The entire analysis process only took a few seconds. It was possible due to the development of artificial intelligence for industrial application.

The pressurized door let out a loud, "Pshhhh!" sound as it slid up into the ceiling. Amaya waved away the barely visible wisps of steam in front of her before walking inside and gesturing for Gio to follow her.

It was an armory like any other. The difference here was that the weapons and armor were of much higher quality than what Gio had access to beforehand.

He looked over the shelves with a glint in his eye.

"I can take anything?"

"If I think you’re taking bullshit because you got too excited, I’m vetoing. Otherwise, yeah."

The glint in Gio’s eyes became a level stronger.

"I can keep the weapons?"

"No."

His hopes were immediately shut down.

Amaya smirked as she watched the light in his eyes die.

"But if you do well on our hunt, I might be willing to put in a good word to the Captain. Most of the stuff in here can be replaced..."

Gio didn’t need to hear another word.

He confidently walked to the shelves and took everything he needed, equipping item after item like he was used to this process.

He picked up a double-edged sword off the wall. Its blade was on the wider side and made of a silver metal that shined with a platinum sheen. When he put it on his hip, its tip almost scraped against the ground.

A dagger was equipped on his hip slightly behind the sword. A pistol went on his other hip and the pockets of his utility belt were filled with ammunition. Finally, he took a rifle and swung it over his back.

It was the same setup he used when he was hunting without a Sequence. Even if he had some power now, it was still necessary to be prepared for when he wasn’t able to use it.

A personal shield generator, two scatter grenades, an armored vest and pants, and a helmet equipped with goggles that had a variety of functions. Once they’d all been gathered on Gio’s body, he turned to face Amaya again.

"How’s it look?"

It was a meaningless question. She was already grinning widely as she watched him choose his arsenal.

With a slow nod and a smile, she acknowledged his words.

"I’m already starting to get why the Captain likes you."

She didn’t say a single other word about his choices, only telling him to follow her.

Gio felt the subtle lightness in his head as the zephyr dropped altitude. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect.

The hunt would be delayed no further.

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