Lohan raised his hand to his face and released the latches on his protective mask. The sound of the vacuum breaking was followed by a sigh of relief as he breathed in the hangar air, which, though not as pure as that of Elysium, was far superior to the chemical soup of Sector 4’s streets.
Even though he could filter impurities from the air, if the air he breathed was pure, he could absorb far more nutrients for every cubic centimeter of air he inhaled.
When he finally removed the mask and revealed his face, silence fell over the group.
Jenny, who was instinctively massaging the side of her ribs where Lohan had struck her in the alley, frowned and uncrossed her arms. "Seriously? That brat who threw me against those boxes like a doll?"
Kai, standing beside her, was just as uncomfortable. Accustomed to fighting bigger men from other gangs, seeing that the one who had made him throw up that day was a boy as young as Devon was disheartening.
Despite Kai and Jenny’s obvious displeasure, Lohan didn’t let it faze him. He looked at the two of them and gave a small, sidelong smile, but said nothing.
Kai looked away, muttering something inaudible, while Skye stepped forward. She didn’t seem annoyed by the smile he’d given her friends, but rather intrigued. Her blue eyes scanned Lohan’s face with an intensity he was already beginning to find uncomfortable.
"You don’t look like someone from the Lower Zone..." Skye remarked, her voice coming out softer now compared to the first time they met since it wasn’t coming through the helmet’s speakers. "Your skin isn’t so pale, your eyes aren’t red from sulfur irritation... you look like someone who lives on a paradise planet, not in this hole."
"I drink a lot of nutrient solutions," Lohan replied curtly, seeing no need to go into detail about how his cores were cleansing his system 24 hours a day.
The burly man, with grease stains on his hands and ears that looked like they had burn scars, approached, wiping his fingers on a dirty rag, and looked Lohan up and down. He was Zach, the group’s mechanic who had tried to attack Lohan with a lug wrench.
"He’s got a good build, Skye." Zach analyzed, sizing up Lohan as if he were looking at a candidate. "He’s not pumped up like those guys who use gym stimulants. He’s... natural. His posture’s too straight, too. Do you play any sports?"
"Just basic exercises." Lohan remarked disinterestedly, not wanting to delve deeper into their ’investigation.’
He felt like they were evaluating him, as if they were deciding whether he was worth recruiting into the gang.
But he didn’t want to pursue that; he’d come here to meet a friendly group, not to go through a selection process to join the gang.
As he looked around, he saw a girl watching him from a distance, sitting in a wheelchair and gazing at him with half-closed eyes.
Sara didn’t say anything; she just nodded to Skye, silently confirming something to her.
Devon, sensing the mood was turning cold, intervened. "Lohan goes to school with us, guys. He’s from the Lower Zone too. Stop treating him like this."
Skye ignored Devon’s comment, crossing her arms over her silver jacket as the fabric reflected the hangar’s yellowish lights. She took another step forward, closing in on Lohan while sniffing lightly.
"Devon doesn’t need to defend you, Lohan. Your fists in the alley did that just fine." She said, in a tone of voice that blended authority with reluctant respect. "Baker told us about your potential a few days ago; we just didn’t realize the person he kept talking about was you. And if our previous encounter wasn’t enough, Sara has already confirmed it. She can sense the density of your Mana even from there; to sensors, you’re like a giant LED light in the darkness of night. In the Lower Zone, someone like you is either a miracle or a problem. We’d prefer you to be a miracle under the Silver Lotus emblem."
Jenny let out a sharp laugh, wiping a grease stain off one of the white motorcycles. "I’ll admit it... if that brat really has an Epic Base, we’ll be able to stop being a gang of scouts and become an elite force in no time..."
Lohan felt the weight of the group’s expectations crash down on him and found it strange.
’Do they want me to join the gang? That’s not what Devon said.’
Although Devon had constantly spoken highly of the group, about the advantages of befriending them, Lohan hadn’t offered to join the group at any point, especially given the bad experiences he’d had with these people before.
He turned to Devon, his eyebrows furrowed in obvious confusion.
"Devon... what’s going on here?" Lohan asked, his voice maintaining an icy calm. "I thought you wanted to show me the base, introduce me to your friends, not put me through a selection process for your private militia."
Devon froze. He looked at Lohan, then at Skye, who was raising an eyebrow in doubt, and finally realized his mistake. He brought his hand to his forehead, letting out a heavy sigh.
"Oh, shit... Skye, everyone, hold on a second." Devon stepped in, gesturing for the group to step back a bit. "I think I... well, in the excitement of finding another high-level Player from the Lower Zone, I forgot to explain his situation to you."
He turned to the leader, his expression turning serious. "Skye, Lohan didn’t come here to join the Silver Lotus."
The silence that followed was broken only by the hiss of one of the stabilizers floating above a workbench.
Skye narrowed her blue eyes, the spark of curiosity in them growing sharper as she looked at Devon with irritation. "Devon, tell me, why on earth did you bring him to our base if he didn’t even want to join our group?"
Devon looked embarrassed, but quickly explained himself. "Skye, even if he doesn’t want to join our group, he’s still open to befriending us. With the potential he’s shown, and the influence our group has, a friendship would already be a good start."
Hearing that, Lohan nodded; that was exactly why he’d come.
As for Skye and the group, they looked at Devon and Lohan with suspicion, but everyone there had seen Lohan’s potential in the battle they’d fought, and with Sara’s confirmation today, this proposal became even more valid.