"Sir, over here!" A crew member of Cargo Crew 4 motioned. Nero turned and moved over to the crew member, who pointed down the tunnel. He moved down the tunnel with the crew member and entered another dead end. Three crew members were squatting over something. The crew member moved past Nero and motioned for the other crew members to separate.
What was once a bundled package was now torn apart. The items were hastily dug through and nothing much was taken aside from a couple rations and bottles of water. Nero stepped over as the crew member dug through it.
"They didn't take it all?" Nero asked.
"No, sir. We've looked through this hastily a couple of times and noticed nothing but a few rations and bottles of water were taken. What should we do with this?" The crew member looked up to their leader.
"Bind it together and let's get out of here." Nero ordered. The crew members nodded and began their work while Nero exited. The sounds of chatter grew louder as Nero turned the corner.
ραndαsnοvεl.cοm "It's them."
"They're back."
Elizabeth motioned and two large crew members stepped up, holding onto their weapons as Lee Seng and the group popped up.
"What're you doing here?" Elizabeth asked. "Come to finish the job?"
"There's a person hurt with them…" A crew member whispered.
"Alright, hold on. What's going on?" Nero asked, pushing through the crowd. They separated and revealed Lee Seng with Evan, Ritsuka and a new person. "You've returned with an injured person."
"She's not here. Do you think we made the wrong decision?" Evan asked Lee Seng. Lee Seng unplugged his nose and sucked in the stale air. He gagged a couple of times and then shook his head to Evan's question.
"Let's keep going." Lee Seng motioned. He took a step forward like the crew members would let him past and a barrier flew up.
"I don't think so." Elizabeth shook her head. The two large crew members began to pull their melee weapons as the others anxiously moved their hands to their weapons.
"Don't do anything rash." Lee Seng told his friends.
"You collected another person and came back and found us after all that noise. What did you do?" Elizabeth asked.
"I wasn't talking to you." Lee Seng eyed Elizabeth. "I could care less what precautions you take with me." He looked over to Nero. "Have you seen a woman with silver eyes? Did she come past here?"
"Silver eyes?" Nero asked.
"She was the one that killed the hounds, right…?" A crew member whispered. Elizabeth shushed them and Lee Seng nodded.
"Thanks." Lee Seng bowed. He pointed past the crew. "We want out. Can we do that?"
"No." Elizabeth shouted. The crew members grew defensive, pulling their weapons out and conjuring their magic.
"Who said you were the one who got to decide that?" Nero asked, sticking his hand up. He walked over to the barrier and looked at Lee Seng. "What happened with all of the explosions?"
"We killed a monster." Lee Seng answered.
"Killed a monster?" Nero raised an eyebrow. "You think I should just… accept that answer?"
"Accept it or not, we almost died trying to get our friend back." Evan pushed forward to the barrier. He was furious that these people wouldn't let them through. "You were okay with us earlier. What happened? Got cold feet?"
"Evan." Ritsuka sighed. Lee Seng reached for Evan and pulled him back.
"My appearance doesn't really help much, huh?" Lee Seng sighed.
"I'm… afraid so." Nero shockingly answered. Lee Seng smirked and nodded.
"I would say we can wait, but my friend needs medical attention. We need to get back to Chan-Yeol and have someone check him out before it's too late." Lee Seng pointed behind him while continuing his eye contact with Nero. Nero's eyes moved over to Calis and then back to Lee Seng.
"Sir." Elizabeth called out to Nero. "We should just—" Nero's hand went up, hushing Elizabeth and the group. He kept eye contact with Lee Seng for a while.
"Tell me, what are you?" Nero asked Lee Seng. "Are you… Biohuman?"
"Yes, I'm a Biohuman and I'm also something else." Lee Seng answered truthfully.
"Lee…!" Evan whispered. Lee Seng stuck his hand out and sighed. Nero nodded and curled his lips, thinking of another question.
"Can you explain what 'something else' is?" Nero asked. Evan tightened his jaw. He looked back at Calis and Ritsuka for help, but the two simply shook their heads at Evan.
"Fiction became reality. We used to think monsters like goblins, hobgoblins, and rotting zombie dogs were fake." Lee Seng started his answer. "There's all those things out in the world, so… Couldn't there be other humanoids?"
"What is he saying?" Elizabeth asked. "He's deflecting the question." Nero turned and put a finger to his lips. Elizabeth gulped and lowered her head. Nero turned back and stuck his hands behind his back, folding them together. He nodded at Lee Seng to continue.
"If all these things exist and there's a possibility there's intelligent humanoids… What if there's other intelligent life like Biohumans out there in other worlds? Realms?" Lee Seng asked.
"Are you saying you're from a different world?" Nero asked. Lee Seng shook his head.
"Born and raised here as a human turned Biohuman." Lee Seng smiled. "One hundred percent Biohuman and one hundred percent a Fox Spirit." Nero's forehead scrunched. He licked his lips and grew confused.
"I'm not quite sure I follow. You are one hundred percent Biohuman… yet you're also one hundred percent fox spirit? What is that?"
"Have any of you heard the tales of a gumiho from Korean mythology? They're fox beings that can take on the form of a human and suck the souls of humans. The Japanese call them kitsune. Chinese call them huli jing. I am similar to that, but not."
"He's a monster then!" A crew member shouted. "Kill him!"
"Drop the barrier! We'll take them before they do anything!" Another crew member shouted. Lee Seng sighed and shook his head.
"You shouldn't have told them." Evan told Lee Seng. Lee Seng continued to stare at Nero. Nero was quiet the entire time. He didn't bother to hush his teammates. He was obviously trying to weigh whether or not Lee Seng and the others would die or not. Nero raised his hand and hushed the group before folding his hand back behind his back. He puffed his chest up and looked Lee Seng in the eye.
"The tails. Where are they?" Nero asked.
'He knows about the tails?' Evan thought. He looked at Lee Seng who was smiling.
"Unfortunately, I attained all nine tails only to die and be resurrected." Lee Seng's smile faded. "In the process my tails were used with my twin's energy, bringing me back to life." He didn't enjoy letting strangers know this. Evan didn't like this. He moved Lee Seng backwards and defensively stood in front of him.
"Let us through, please." Evan asked Nero. He wanted to desperately sock their faces. Most of those people on the other side of the barrier were scared of Lee Seng. They didn't know anything and Evan's anger burned bright. Lee Seng put a hand on Evan, temporarily pulling the anger away.
Lee Seng smiled at Evan. He silently thanked him for being made on his part. He was telling many people the truth of what he is and what he had lost. Nero sighed and stepped away.
"Let them through." Nero ordered.
"But, sir, he's a danger! If he had tails at one point and had a twin, he could easily—" Elizabeth began to protest.
"Let them through. That's an order. Everyone, stand down." Nero said with a domineering voice. The entire crew but Elizabeth stood down. They stepped away, leaving Elizabeth left. Nero stared at Elizabeth and watched as the woman fumed with anger. The barrier flickered, fading and Elizabeth turned and marched off.
"Elizabeth." A crew member called out for the angered woman.
"Let her go." Nero sighed. He turned to look at Lee Seng. "You may go." Lee Seng nodded and motioned for his group to go first. Lee Seng held the flank, following after. Nero stepped over to Lee Seng, stopping him. He lifted his hand to cover his mouth and whispered, "Twins? You had a twin this entire time?" Lee Seng looked at Nero and sighed.
"At one point there was only one of me." Lee Seng answered, quietly. He caught a glimpse of Evan and the others waiting for him on the other side. "I am the only son. My twin's the reason why I'm also a Fox Spirit." He pulled away and rejoined his friends. He motioned for them to continue.
"What did you whisper about now?" Ritsuka asked.
"Saying goodbye." Lee Seng lied.
"You're too friendly with potential enemies." Evan shook his head. He bumped into Lee Seng, erasing his frown and turning it into a smile. "I didn't like that they asked you about him."
"He didn't." Lee Seng corrected Evan. "I gave him that information willingly."
"Why?" Ritsuka asked.
"There's a reason why Mr. Nero's in charge." Lee Seng smiled. "You didn't feel it?"
"No, I only felt hostility." Evan shook his head. "What is it?" Lee Seng shook his head. "C'mon, you're such a tease! Tell us!"
"Let's focus on getting out first." Lee Seng motioned. Evan grumble as they climbed the tunnel upwards.
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