Chapter 60: Here

After defeating the Wolf's Fang member and celebrating a bit, all the Metal Body members proceeded to finish their respective tasks.

Some went to treat Larce, others to retrieve the other executive or to check on the condition of the Wolf's Fang member, and the remainder stood guard in the vicinity.

This was a scene that surprised the aforementioned executive considerably, because while he knew that Metal Body encouraged teamwork, it was the first time he had seen so many people cooperate so obediently.

It was clear that this had not happened naturally, even with Chuck leading this group, it was quite unlikely that they would cooperate like this. Fortunately for him, the person responsible for all this was right in front of him.

'Hm...'

But no matter how much he looked at him, he couldn't notice anything unusual or outstanding about this person except for his strange appearance.

Both his energy and physique were at rank (D-) at best, this put him at the lowest levels of even Metal Body, who were known for their very low requirements for joining.

However, despite the fact that almost everyone present was stronger than him, for some reason they all seemed to pay attention to him without rebutting him even once.

This caused Larce to suspect that there was something else Jay was hiding.

'...Just who is this person?' he thought as he watched Jay head towards a nearby three story building.

"Alright guys, apparently we won't have to use the concrete so you can come down now! As for the concrete chunks, please get those down too, they'll come in handy later!" He shouted towards the roof of the three story building.

"Okay!" Replied one of them.

The people on top of the building then proceeded to slowly lower the concrete chunks with some help from Anna.

'Those concrete chunks...don't tell me he had planned to use them too?!' Larce thought in shock.

Just as he guessed, Jay had in fact planned to use these concrete chunks when the right moment presented itself, but because his initial plan worked, he was able to avoid this extra step.

"Are you surprised, boss?"

Suddenly, a man's animated voice reached Larce's ears.

Lifting his gaze to the source of the voice, Larce could see the friendly guardian of District 30, Chuck, who wore a smile of understanding, as if he knew exactly what Larce was thinking.

"...Well, I'd be lying if I said no." He replied as he shook his head and smiled bitterly, "But tell me, who is this person and how did he manage to convince all of you?"

One could tell from the relaxed attitude of the two in this conversation that they didn't seem to be boss and subordinate, but more like work colleagues.

The question Larce asked made quite a bit of sense, after all, while the level of preparation Jay had demonstrated was somewhat admirable, what surprised him the most was the fact that he managed to bring Metal Body together despite being practically a stranger.

"Well it's pretty simple really..." Chuck said as he began to relate the short history of Jay's group.

Thanks to the fact that he had been talking to the other members of Wolf's Fang, including Damien's group and Colt, he had a rough understanding of how exactly it was that Jay had managed to convince most of those present.

"Hm... I see." Larce replied, sinking into his thoughts.

After listening to Chuck's story, he was able to come to the conclusion that this sudden union of his subordinates was due to three important things that Jay made use of.

First, he used the camaraderie of everyone present as the starting point, including them all in one big group and helping them, creating a good impression with them and identifying himself as a strong ally.

Second, after helping them, he empathized with the plight of those who had suffered at the hands of Wolf's Fang and the sense of belonging that each one had with Metal Body while at the same time feeding the anger that each one of them felt.

Third, as the group grew larger, the pressure they gave off as a group increased, this, combined with the previous two points made those who were alone or in groups of 2 or 3 unable to do anything except go with the flow.

'...I wonder if it was planned or if it's just his natural charisma. Whatever the case, it's certainly impressive.' Larce thought, erasing what he previously thought of the hooded man.

As a Metal Body executive, he had also heard about the incidents that happened a few days ago with Taylor, Colt and Mark respectively.

However, because this matter was handled personally by the boss and Aiden, Larce simply ignored this new character that appeared in the South Zone... and this was something he now slightly regretted

'I wonder if he's interested in joining us...' He thought, imagining what it would be like if they had such a skilled member in Metal Body.

The next moment, he stood up and began to head towards Jay.

While this wasn't the most appropriate time for it, he was willing to spend some of his time convincing Jay to join Metal Body.

***

At the same time that Larce was thinking of ways to recruit Jay, the person in question, having finished organizing the rest, was now examining the body of the unconscious Wolf's Fang member.

Despite having been strangled with the force of more than 10 rank (D+) supers combined, he was still alive, demonstrating the toughness of a super (C) rank.

'I'd better take the opportunity to check his state, who knows when I will have an opportunity like this again.' He thought as he put his hand on the Wolf's Fang member's neck and telling the parasites to enter.

Immediately, the status window popped up.

_____________

[Anton Nissen]

Body Grade: (C)

Trait - Feral (Passive): The user has awakened the wild side of his bloodline, giving him senses and physical capabilities on par with that of an animal. +15% to all senses and 20% improvement on strenght and agility.

Condition: Unconscious, Multiple Minor Injuries.

Parasites: 10

Assimilation status: 0% (0.5% per day per parasite)

(Warning: As the difference in energy and Body Grade between the [Carrier] and the [Host] is too big, the assimilation process has a high probability of failure).

_____________

'...So I can even assimilate another super's Trait...?' Jay thought, amazed at the system's capabilities.

It should have been known that each Trait was basically the combination of each super's efforts and talent, so Jay really didn't expect to be able to absorb something as personal as that. Even if he wasn't able to do it right now, that didn't take away from the fact that it was something incredible.

Without a doubt, the system kept surprising him more and more.

As for the requirements to be able to assimilate the Wolf's Fang member's abilities, while they were much higher than normal, it was to be expected.

After all, they were no longer talking about a mere rank (D+) super, but a powerful rank (C) super, someone who was a grade and 2 ranks away for the current Jay.

Taking that into account, the odd thing would be if he could assimilate his abilities just like he did with Carl or Colt.

'Haa, I guess I'll just have to get stronger...' He thought as he retrieved his little ones.

Just at that moment, before he could finish retrieving them, a system notification window appeared before his eyes.

_____________

[Hidden Task: "A Glimpse At The Strong" completed.]

[Reward: 15 Parasites (Original)]

Remark: This is just a glimpse!

_____________

Immediately, the 15 parasites formed inside Jay's body and made their way to where the others were currently, his right arm. Even though they had been created literally a second ago, their capabilities were just as good as the other parasites.

'Oh, nice~'

Although he didn't expect to complete a hidden task or get any more parasites right now, it was a very welcome help.

'He...r...e'

"!"

However, before he could finish deciding what to do with his new little ones, just when they gathered in his arm, Jay suddenly felt something that made him turn towards the deeper part of the South Zone.

"This..."

For a brief moment, Jay was able to feel a faint connection with his other little ones, namely those with Noah, and he wasn't the only one, his parasites also felt the same, or rather, they felt it even more clearly than he did.

Although it was brief, apart from the feeling that they were connected, Jay also thought he heard what seemed to be a message saying "here".

The next moment, the little ones in his arm began to stir like never before, moving back and forth as they all relayed ideas towards Jay, making his head ache slightly.

He managed to calm them down and organize what they were saying. Among all the ideas, there were 3 words that were repeated more than all.

Hurry, Help, Weak.

It was obvious that something very bad had happened to Noah, so Jay immediately changed his plans and decided to talk to the Metal Body executive.

Now that he knew more or less where Noah was, there was no longer any need to follow up with this group or raze every Wolf's Fang base they came across as he had planned before.

But just as he got up and turned around, he bumped into a person.

"Ah, sorry." Jay said, apologetically.

"It's okay, I think it's my fault for approaching without warning."

Hearing this loud but clear voice, Jay immediately looked up, and there he saw just the person he was looking for.

"You seem to be in a hurry, may I ask the reason?" Larce said with a smile.