"So, is there anything I should know before I meet your group?" Lohan asked, leaning against a wall of the bus without holding onto the handrail above his head like the others.
He didn’t do it to look cool, but with so many people on the crowded bus, the bodies around him alone would be enough to keep him from falling, and with the Slime’s enhanced balance, he was steadier than many of the weak and exhausted people leaning on the handrail.
’Good thing I can filter out the smells I sense too...’ he thought, looking up at all those arms and remembering the terrible smell the bus had because so many people hadn’t bathed.
With water being so expensive, few people in the Lower Zone bathed more than once a week, so the smell on the bus was so intense that the air purification filters inside weren’t enough to make the air breathable.
And combined with the lack of bus maintenance due to the greed of the company providing the service, which only repaired the bare minimum necessary to keep the bus from falling apart, ignoring all comfort needs, it made the stuffy air feel like a stinky cheese greenhouse.
Hearing Lohan’s question, Devon paused thoughtfully for a moment, but answered casually.
Devon let out a short sigh, leaning a little closer to Lohan so his voice wouldn’t carry too far, and a glint of pride, mixed with caution, flashed in the eyes behind his mask.
"Honestly? The place is a mess." Devon said, flashing a sideways smile. "But it’s our mess. We’ve set up shop in an old, decommissioned drone maintenance hangar in Sector 4. Obviously the place isn’t exactly luxurious, but the walls are thick enough to muffle the sound, and the Asphyxia Gang’s sensors can’t reach us there easily. It’s the only place where I can actually breathe and relax without constantly looking around in fear."
Lohan listened in silence, surprised by the feeling Devon conveyed when talking about his group.
"As for the crew... well, we’re a functional family of misfits," Devon continued, his voice dropping even lower. "Our leader, though small and seemingly fragile, and even a bit younger than me, everyone respects her like a mother. She has the longest blonde hair I’ve ever seen and a very short fuse for idiots. She was the one who got our first Elysium helmet by intercepting a shipment from the Upper Zone. If it weren’t for her, I might not even have been able to get into college."
Devon spoke with a gleam in his eyes.
"Then there’s Zach. He’s our Tank in the game and our mechanic out here. Whenever there’s a problem with the bikes, he always finds a way to get them working again with the few parts we have. There’s Jenny and Sara too, even though they don’t look alike at all, they’re like sisters, so if you offend one, you better be ready to deal with both of them."
Lohan vaguely recalled the fight in the alley a few days ago. He remembered knocking out a girl named Jenny and a guy named Kai.
’What a coincidence...’ Lohan thought, not taking the thought too seriously.
There were so many people with similar names that he didn’t connect them as possibly being the same person.
"There are eight of us in total, but since we only have one helmet, we split the connection time, giving priority to whoever has a base above the average." Devon explained with a hint of bitterness. "While some are in Elysium trying to farm coins to buy more gear, the others keep watch in the real world. It’s a slow grind, but we’re almost there. The leader reached Level 9 yesterday, and we feel that if we have one more person with combat potential and Mana potential like hers, we’ll finally be able to found our own independent organization."
The bus jolted violently as it passed through a layer of denser, polluted air. Lohan didn’t even flinch, unconsciously using [Gravitational Anchor], and the Slime’s refined balance kept him glued to the floor as if he were part of the structure.
Devon lost his balance slightly, having to focus to stay on his feet, and after stabilizing, he continued. "Just... try not to be too ’Low Zone’ when you get there. They’re wary of new faces, especially now that the whole world is going crazy over Players. They’re pretty worried about corporate spies, and considering I didn’t warn them I was bringing you there, I’ll have to prepare them first."
Hearing this, Lohan stopped for a moment. "Wait, what? You’re telling me all these details about your group, taking me to your base, and you haven’t even told the other members about me?"
Lohan was shocked by Devon’s naivety, revealing so many things to a stranger on his own; he thought the only explanation for this was that the group had reached a consensus to try to win him over.
Now he found out that this had all been Devon’s idea without consulting anyone?
’My God, this is a recipe for disaster.’ Lohan rolled his eyes, giving up on the idea of meeting this group today.
But looking around, Devon saw the familiar bus stop and smiled, pulling Lohan out of the crowded bus with him.
"We’re here, this is where we get off!" he said excitedly.
Looking at that boy, who before speaking had seemed mysterious and intelligent, Lohan was now having a hard time not seeing a Golden Retriever who didn’t think things through much but just wanted them to work out.
Honestly, Lohan knew that the most rational thing to do now would be to force himself to stay on the bus and leave this meeting with the group for another day, but thinking that he was already here, and confident in his own strength and fighting ability, Lohan sighed and went with the flow.
’I haven’t had any action in so long anyway, I think I need to stretch my muscles.’