After chatting with Ritchie for a while longer at his home, Jeremy and Claire decided it was time to bid him farewell. After all, they both had other pressing matters to attend to.
"Alright, I am genuinely pleased that you both came to visit me. However, I understand that you must have more important matters to handle during this time.
So, there's no need for you to stay with me any longer. I am well aware of my own health, and with Emma's assistance, I should be fine." Ritchie remarked, sensing that Jeremy and Claire had other significant tasks to focus on.
Ritchie could perceive that both Jeremy and Claire had other crucial commitments. Thus, he chose to let them attend to their priorities.
Jeremy and Claire promptly took their leave from Ritchie.
As they reached the ground floor of Ritchie's building, Jeremy and Claire also parted ways.
"I need to check on Bonnie's situation. Although after leaving the instance, Bonnie and I headed to the city government office together, I didn't get a chance to talk much with her there."
Jeremy stated, hoping to ascertain Bonnie's condition.
He had an uneasy feeling that Bonnie and Benjamin had had a fierce argument. He wanted to make sure Bonnie wouldn't do something foolish.
Claire nodded with a gentle smile.
"I am also slightly worried about Bonnie's situation. Her father probably still hasn't accepted her decision, has he?"
"Mayor Benjamin seems like he will never accept Bonnie's decision. Benjamin has always hoped that Bonnie wouldn't take risks. But you know, Bonnie is a very determined person." Jeremy responded.
Both Jeremy and Claire could see that Bonnie would never easily follow someone else's orders.
The reason Bonnie was willing to cooperate with Jeremy was simply because she was deeply moved by how he had protected her meticulously during previous dangers. source-at-NovelFire
"Alright, there's no need for you to waste any more time here with me. Go find Bonnie quickly!" Claire said with a smile.
Jeremy could tell that Claire's mood was not as light-hearted as she appeared.
However, Jeremy did not intend to say anything further, as no amount of words could ease the turmoil within Claire's heart.
After Jeremy left in haste, Claire sighed deeply, deciding to go look for Emma.
Claire and Emma had stayed together the entire time while Jeremy was inside the instance.
They remained together for two main reasons: to ensure each other's safety and to be the first to receive any information about Jeremy.
Jeremy made his way from Flip-Flop Community to Bonnie's residence in the upscale villa district of Moonlight City as quickly as possible.
This time, Jeremy didn't need to use a covert method to enter the villa. He chose to walk straight to the main entrance and rang the doorbell.
It wasn't long before the front door of the villa swung open.
To his surprise, it was Howard calling him.
Although slightly taken aback, Jeremy didn't hesitate to answer the call.
"Mr. Jeremy, you must be less busy than you were before, right?" Howard asked directly as soon as the call connected.
"I still have some miscellaneous tasks to handle. But as you mentioned, I'm indeed not as busy as I was previously." Jeremy responded, finding an excuse for himself.
He thought it was quite likely that Howard would be seeking his help next. If assisting Howard didn't yield substantial benefits for Jeremy, he could use this excuse to decline.
"Minor tasks are trivial for someone like you! Just delegate those to your friends! I called to propose a collaboration." Howard's voice rang with enthusiasm.
"You must be quite concerned about the instances around Moonlight City, right? I am equally invested in those instances. So, how about we join forces to clear them all out?" Howard suggested.
Jeremy hadn't anticipated that Howard would reach out to propose a collaboration.
Although Jeremy had met Howard a few times and knew that Howard held him in high regard, they had never collaborated before.
After all, Howard was a general of the Federation, and his actions were highly restricted.
Even if Howard wanted to collaborate with others, he would typically have to prioritize working within the Federal jurisdiction, such as teaming up with Ella's special operations unit.
"What prompted you to suddenly want to team up with me? After all, I'm just an ordinary Awakened individual."
Jeremy inquired, seeking to understand Howard's true motives.
Jeremy's words elicited hearty laughter from Howard on the other end of the line.
"Mr. Jeremy, you claim to be just an ordinary Awakened. Do you believe that yourself? If you are considered ordinary, then what does that make the rest of us?" Howard exclaimed, his laughter echoing through the phone.
Howard's rhetorical question left Jeremy in an awkward situation.
Jeremy's talent was widely recognized as the strongest among the Awakened. If even he could only be considered ordinary, then where would that leave the other Awakened?
"Alright, since you want to know the real reason I want to team up with you, I'll tell you." Howard's voice came through the phone again.
"The instances around Moonlight City are appearing at an increasingly rapid pace. If we don't swiftly handle the more dangerous instances, Moonlight City will soon be surrounded by hordes of instance monsters.
This is something none of us can afford to accept. My duty is to ensure the safety of Moonlight City, and you must ensure the safety of your friends, right?
So, of course, there is room for collaboration between the two of us. Furthermore, Ella's special operations team will be joining us this time. You must be prepared." Howard explained.
Jeremy ultimately agreed with Howard's explanation.
On his way to the Iron Lair instance, Jeremy had also noticed the increasing number of instances appearing around Moonlight City. Alongside this surge, the frequency of monster appearances in Moonlight City had also escalated.
It seemed that the planners of the apocalypse game had initiated a new wave of actions.