131 Familiarity 1

04:36 pm.

The sun outside was gradually nearing the horizon on the west side of the world hence the color of the sky was also changing every passing minute.

It was no longer as clear and sky blue as a few hours ago as it turned into a harmonious color palette of red and orange tones. Still beautiful, but subtly reminding everyone that within two hours, the brightest source of light at daytime would be retiring for the night.

'She's still not here?' Gio asked himself since Sofony had not yet returned even after ten minutes.

The one talking to him about a branch of a mall to be opened at Jasper City cleverly stopped when he saw Gio frowning at his wristwatch, only continuing when the man raised his head again. To the middle-aged mustached man's relief, Gio did not abandon their discussion for whatever had distracted him earlier. Their talk smoothly ended and though only one of them was smiling when they parted ways, this man was already the envy of those watching them from the distance.

Congratulations from the other business suit-clad people around poured towards this middle-aged businessman with a fake mustache. He took in their envy and well-meaning words until he began grinning from ear to ear.

As for the cause of this, he had already walked away, his destination, the female restroom of the floor. Those who noticed where he's going stood dumbfounded, asking themselves repeatedly if they really saw their ultimate boss heading towards that place. There was just no way to mistake the ladies' restroom with the gentlemen's because the latter was located at the end of the opposite hallway. But of course, in the end, none of them even tried to make their existence known to Gio due to the frown on his face.

None of them knew, but the man was just actually puzzled why Sofony had yet to return.

It was because he was aware of why she wanted to go there. He might be not one hundred percent sure, but if he was not mistaken, she only wanted a place where it would be alright for her to laugh. Obviously, a hall would not be a good choice unless a funny event took place there. That was precisely her problem. If the reason for one's merriment was only something only she knew, then people who saw her joyfully laughing would definitely assume that she was going crazy.

Thinking of this, the frown finally vanished and a corner of his lips curled up, amused by Sofony's train of thoughts. Obviously, the girl was still somehow the same, one who worries about people's opinion. He wondered when she would realize that actually, she didn't have to be like that because opinions and impressions were still things that could be manipulated and turned to one's favor. This was truer for an excellent hypnotist like her. If she wanted, even if she destroys someone, no one would find her at fault as long as she uses her ability well.

He momentarily narrowed his eyes,

'Highly improbable yet.'

"Ouch!"

Gio's own train of thoughts got interrupted by that yelp. The man felt something bumping into his shoulder, strong, but only enough to make him stop in his tracks and not step back or stagger.

No expression could be seen from his face when he turned to his left. The person who collided with him had just tottered, automatically placing her left hand on her right shoulder as she regained her balance. Anger was evident from the fashionably dressed woman when she faced him.

'Hmm? Another play?'

This was what Gio asked himself after seeing that it was a pretty woman, one who just appeared out of nowhere.

To be honest, he also held a bit of admiration towards the girl's appearance because she was slightly above Sofony or even that Clarissa. Anyone looking at her would be left to wonder whether she was a goddess that descended from the skies. In his case, he also felt that she was quite familiar. At least, the way she looked at him was familiar, her voice too. He had a feeling that he already saw her somewhere. It was just weird, as weird as his frequent deja vus about Sofony.

However, this thought immediately disappeared from his mind when he reflected on what just happened.

'The 578th...?' He asked himself as he tried to recall the exact number of women who tried the same tactic against him before.

This so-called hallway encounter.

'Another one trying her luck to get my interest?'

As he was appalled by the idea, he indifferently began to walk again, not sparing the girl another glance. Anyway, it was not his fault, and he was such a tall person. Only idiots would mistakenly collide with him in a place where five people could walk side by side without their shoulders bumping into each other. He was already being nice when he did not demand an apology from the other.

'I'm amazed that she did not get thrown on the floor by that faked collision. But that's it. It's plain annoying.' he thought without showing any expression on his face. However, in his mind, he was thinking that if the woman tries to stop him and make him apologize, like what fifty percent of her predecessors did just to get his attention and interest, he would send her to jail or to his dungeon without fail. If he would be so merciful to do the first, of course, he would not let her off easily by suing her for harassment.

He would file an assassination attempt case against her so that she would not be able to prey on rich bachelors for at least six months.

Fortunately, the woman did not do anything anymore. This rendered him wondering for three seconds if the woman was somehow wiser than the others. However, after that, he tossed the matter to the back of his mind.

The stupid encounter simply ended this way.

...

Without him knowing, the woman left behind by him was staring at his back with seriousness on her face. Her posture was already corrected, and she was no longer faking feeling hurt by the collision.

Now when looked closely, even though she appeared solemn, her eyes were actually giving off a menacing vibe. It was quite a contrast to the easy-going look she was sporting half an hour ago.

It said when nothing happened to the man even though he directly gazed into her slightly glowing pair of orbs.

The woman wearing a black long dress who should have departed already for her flight half an hour ago narrowed her eyes which had just flashed with a dangerous gleam.

She called out, '...System.'

The entity replied with a , its tone suggesting that it was waiting for her next words.

'Sofony Mendez is only a Level 2 Host, right?' she started. 'And she has no access to anything that can nullify a Triple S mind control. Am I correct?' she asked, determined to give a name to the mysterious feeling that washed over her when her attempt did not go well.

When it answered yes again, this time in a flat tone implying a confirmation, her expression became darker. No trace of her previous playfulness remained as she pondered on many questions that popped up in her mind after that brief encounter.

The first thing that she subconsciously asked,

'... That Gio Albarez... Why is he staying with Host 137?'

The hidden meaning was why a person like that who was actually even immune to mental skills from a higher level host staying with a weak, Level 2 woman.

Her AI was initially confused by her question. However, it later realized what was going on in her mind when it tried to access the main brain's database and got nothing in return.

It regretfully said,

'...'

The woman went silent for a few seconds.

After organizing her ideas, she then began throwing questions at it consecutively. Her intention was to check if the person was really only someone immune to mind skills, or if there was another secret that she could find out...

'What are his skills?'

'His weaknesses?'

'How about his hobbies?'

'Who are the people important to him aside from his uncle?'

Some random queries were even included to the list,

'Why is he living in a small condo unit?'

'How many women did he bed and kill before?'

'What is his most embarrassing memory?'

'What brand of diapers did his nanny use on him when he was still a baby?'

'When did he first taste a woman?'

Many more questions had been asked. However, a minute later, her expression became very serious and cold. She decided to stop, deeming that asking more would be useless.

Her suspicion was practically confirmed because it repeatedly answered her,

The reply had seemingly given her nothing useful, but actually, it did reveal so many clues which allowed her to guess what Gio Albarez was.

With a thoughtful look on her face, she teleported out of the tower, arriving inside a cubicle in the airport's public restroom.

Five minutes later.

Even when she was already seated inside the plane that had just taken off from the ground, her mind couldn't extricate itself from the name of that man.

A powerful non-host protected by the system...

A non-host whose information was hidden by someone probably stronger than both her and Host 37...

The woman couldn't help but shake her head and rub her forehead because she had never once considered that the target she had randomly chosen for her new mission was someone whose identity was most likely even higher than hers!

It was just so unbelievable!

However, what was even harder for her to accept was that despite this man being so enigmatic, strong and perfect, he was actually staying by a random woman's side...