Reign kept trying to recall the moment the Meta Human vanished into thin air.
He had a good memory, so if he concentrated hard enough, he could replay the whole scene in his mind and remember every detail, even the smallest ones he hadn't noticed before because he was preoccupied with something else.
As the memory resurfaced, he noticed the time on the control panel. The panel displayed different types of data, including temperature, time, and date.
There was a gap of a minute when he opened his maw and bite into the creature, which was very unnatural considering his bite should only take a split second.
"So I just stopped moving for a full minute without being aware?" he thought.
That was the only explanation he could come up with given the available information.
If he had been frozen for a full minute without any awareness, it suggested a level of control or influence far beyond anything he had encountered before.
This realization was enough to make him felt very threatened.
No matter how powerful he was, if someone or something could freeze his thought process for that long, it would be game over.
He prided himself on his speed and reaction time, but this incident showed him that those strengths could be rendered useless in an instant.
Reign clenched his fists, frustration raising within him.
"I can't afford to be caught off guard like that again," he thought. "I need to understand what happened and how to prevent it."
Little did Reign know that it was the system's doing that caused all of this confusion .
But on the bright side, this little incident would prove helpful in the future when he actually encountered someone capable of mental attacks.
'I don't think that thing is here anymore,'he mused, sensing nothing out of the ordinary.
Before, he had felt a heavy, nagging sensation, as if something powerful and dangerous was lurking nearby.
The air had been filled with tension, but now that feeling had completely vanished.
This thought provided a small measure of relief.
'Still, I can't afford to be complacent. Whatever that thing was, it was powerful. It must have had a reason for leaving instead of finishing me off. Maybe it's more intelligent than I initially thought, or maybe it was just as disoriented as I was.' He reasoned out.
After a few minutes, he regained some of his energy and found himself faced with two options.
He could either completely abandon the goal of getting the virus, forfeiting all the effort he had put in thus far and gaining nothing in return.
Or, he could summon his courage, and stop being a pussy.
'Fuck that Meta Human! ,' He refused to abandon his goal over something like this.
As Reign eavesdropped, he overheard them discussing the virus that was supposed to be stolen.
"I'll just wait for them to finish," he thought to himself.
Revealing himself now would render all his hard work useless.
However—
After finishing their rounds and noting their findings, Harvey and Jonathan instead of putting back the virus on the storage placed the black vial in a briefcase and left the room.
This made Reign ponder on what to do next, but ultimately, he decided to let it go.
The unexpected turn of events left him briefly unsettled, but he quickly refocused his attention on the primary objective: getting the viruses from storage.
Overall, the mission was merely a bonus. Even if he didn't complete it, the benefits were far higher with getting the viruses.
Just like before, he timed the CCTV, quickly calculating the window of opportunity.
CLICK!
He got out from the vent, moving with a speed that was neither too fast or too slow.
Next.
Without hesitation, he began placing the bug on the camera, to give him enough time to get the vials.
Once the bug was in place, he retreated back and nodded in satisfaction.
He walk close to the storage area.
In front of him was big glass box, housing rows upon rows of vials.
Within, there were possibly hundreds of different types, each containing a concentrated form of virus meticulously preserved for study or other purposes.
There was a glass door, equipped with a panel for inputting a password.
Luckily, Reign had memorized the code used by Harvey when he last accessed the room.
DING!
With a quick press of the same button sequence, the door unlocked, granting him access to the storage case.
Reign felt excitement surge through him as he watched all the vials. He knew for sure that his Viral Slash would become stronger once he acquired them.
"But first...," his voice trailed off and a new window opened.