Lone Cultivator In Another World

In another room in that bunker, four people gasped at the same time when the guard's head hit the wall.

"H-how did he do that?"

"Was that an accident? Doc.u.ment it anyway."

One of the four scientists took notes of everything that happened in the interrogation room. He hurried to describe what they'd seen in his own words.

Unfortunately, Michael's body was in the way, so the camera didn't catch what exactly happened to the guard. It could've been another ability of the first Alter or a simple awkward movement that might've cost the guard his life.

"At least he hasn't killed them," the team leader noticed. Others relaxed a little, but it didn't take away the grim determination from the leader's face.

"He has a gun."

"We also have one for emergencies!" One of the four took out a pistol from a table drawer and tightened his fingers around the handle, his arm trembling in anticipation.

"You think he'll give you a chance to shoot? Look at the guard!" a woman threw her hands in the air. "We have to give the call to evacuate!"

She looked to the leader who kept his silence. His eyes met with his subordinates' and he decided, "No. If we don't make contact in the next seven minutes, they'll evacuate anyway. We can use it as a bargaining chip against the subject."

The metal floor creaked outside their room. The female instinctively huddled into the man closest to her. The one with the gun hid it behind his back and tried to shrink himself.

The door was bashed open with a kick, and the intruder's figure hid behind the doorframe the next moment.

"Mr. North, there's no need to shoot. We're unarmed," the leader spoke up.

Michael poked his head inside and stepped in after he made sure the scientist was telling the truth.

Long tables stood along two walls of the room, filled with various computers and medical equipment. Michael recognized a radio-like communication device and the tech necessary to record everything that happened in the interrogation room. There was also everything they needed to do the full lab work on him.

Three men and one woman, all wearing white lab coats, were the mysterious watchers who used to pass the interviewer's orders to the kidnappers.

"Welcome, Mr. North. Please, there's no need for violence. If you stand down now, we can forget about it all. Your parents won't be harmed."

Michael smiled at the head scientist. He was a stately man with an evident backbone, and remained calm even though the other three were scared for their lives.

"I'm afraid it's too late for that. I make the rules now." Michael looked the female scientist in the eye and raised his gun, "Where are my parents?"

The leader tried to take the initiative once again, "They're in another facility, Mr. North. You're not doing them any good by waving a weapon around."

"Give me the address."

The woman exchanged a glance with her fellow scientist, the note taker. He shook his head very slightly, but that movement was enough for Michael to notice.

"I think you're under the impression I won't hurt you. You know why I haven't killed those two? Because I was on camera, and because I wanted to save enough bullets for you."

There was another reason he hadn't – the incredible mental exhaustion. Surviving the battle with his own bloodl.u.s.t and securing control over the body left a strain on Michael's mind. The phantom pains were still coursing through his body like piranhas, biting and tearing.

The darkness was still somewhere close by, it wasn't completely suppressed. It influenced Michael's every thought, whispered its sadistic whims into his brain. However, he made the decisions for now.

"Address of the facility! Last time I'm asking nicely!"

"Mr. North, try to see reason…!"

Michael raised his gun and shot without hesitation. The bullet hit its target, and the poor scientist was torn from the arms of the woman he stood next to. She moved to catch him, but he was too heavy, the impact too sudden. The woman fell on her knees, holding the body up.

Unblinkingly, she stared at his forehead overflowing with blood.

The leader frowned, powerless to resist the supernatural teenager. "You killed him!" he grinded his teeth.

"Yes, I did. What did you expect when you signed up for this? If you threaten someone, be prepared to suffer the consequences. Eat or be eaten – is that the world you want to live in? I'll make sure you get a good taste of it!" A smile touched Michael's lips, but his eyes remained focused on the terrified woman. He didn't feel any remorse for the people who wanted to take his parents from him. "Address!"

"No! Not after you just murdered one of our friends!" the scientist with the gun shouted and shot at one of the devices. He fell on the floor the next moment, clutching his shoulder, but the damage was done. The communication device was emitting sparks and smoke.

"Don't you f.u.c.k.i.n.g move! You," Michael nodded at the team leader, "What is that device?"

"We used it to send messages to the other facility. If we don't send one in the next four minutes, they are supposed to proceed with the evacuation."

"Evacuation? What does that mean?"

The leader shrugged, "They retreat from the facility. One of your parents will be killed to send a message. The other will be used as a bargaining chip again later."

"And now you can't make us call it off!" laughed the injured shooter. "That's what you get for killing one of us! I am a patriot!"

Michael heard him out, aimed the gun, and shot, taking another life.

"No!" the woman screamed and crawled from one dead body to another. Desperate to believe this wasn't real, she tried to shake her colleague awake, but it was too late. "I'm begging you, stop it!" Pale with terror, she clutched her hands in front of her c.h.e.s.t in a praying gesture.

"The address," he repeated coldly.

"Fine." The leader closed his eyes. He just lost two people, and judging from the teenager's pattern, he would be next. Then the woman would do anything the little monster asked.

The leader told Michael the address.

"Where is it? I'm not familiar with the town."

The second facility turned out to be quite far. Even if he ran at top speed, Michael couldn't say for sure if his parents would still be alive. He had to hurry.

"Now, fall asleep for me."

[Mind Bash. F-grade minor Psychic Skill. Applies momentum of pressure on target's mind.]

Both scientists lost consciousness, and their bodies hit the ground with heavy thuds.

Michael felt a pressure descend on his mind, so sudden he had to lean on the door frame. Coupled with the mental exhaustion, the Mind Bash took a lot out of him. Michael took a few breaths and straightened himself.

He grabbed the second gun and ran to the building's entrance, limping with phantom pains. Once outside, he checked the interviewer's phone, and his shoulders relaxed when he saw the bars appear on the screen.

"Graves, listen to me!" he yelled, walking to the nearest street. "Track this phone's location for the last hour. There's a bunker here with four knocked out and two dead. Take everything, the equipment too. Destroy it. The bunker shouldn't be connected to the Internet, so the information they have on me – I want it gone!"

"Got it. Michael, what is happening? Where are you going now?" The principal didn't make an issue of Michael calling him by his last name, giving the teenager a pass.

"My parents are held at another location. Eight armed men with them…" he dictated the address.

"I will be there in fifteen. Wait for me!"

"No way, sir. They might be harmed at any minute."

Michael ended the call without listening to Graves's indignant remarks and concentrated. He still had millions of glory points left.

Speed. He needed speed.

A golden glow enveloped his legs and feet, and the cultivator shot in the direction of the second facility like a cheetah, ignoring the pain.