Chapter 230: What Do You Mean by That!?
’The Lich is leaving its dimension?’
[Yes, that is the most likely situation. The system advises the user to apprehend the Lich while it is still within it’s current dimension. A migration from a creature of this calibre can only mean it has found a more suitable environment that would allow it to increase its power to even greater levels. If the user allows the Lich to complete this migration, it will take a long time for the system to retrace its location, and retrieving the Lich’s heart will become exponentially more difficult.]
Jason put a hand to his forehead and cursed! The SMD agent who had been trying to bring him with her took a step back in surprise when she heard him curse, and she looked back to the other agents behind her while wondering what in the world was going on with him! The woman tried to speak up, but Jason immediately put his hand up and stopped her dismissively before he spoke to the system again.
"How long do I have before it moves?"
[From the rate of change of Mana Density, the system predicts that the user has approximately [2] hours before the Lich completes its migration.]
Jason wanted to curse, but before he was even able to do that, another notification appeared in his system.
[The system has also picked up a significant spike in mana density in the airspace around New Jersey.]
"For fuck’s sake!"
Jason’s outburst made the SMD agents in front of him stumble back, and the woman who had been trying to talk to him quickly decided that it would be best to leave Jason alone for now! He looked absolutely furious!
Jason took a breath to calm himself, and he asked the system what the hell was happening in New Jersey!
[From the rate of change in Mana Density, the system predicts it is the appearance of a Gate. But unlike most other gates that take a significant amount of time to fully form, this Gate appears to be forming relatively quickly and should be complete in less than two hours.]
Jason read through all this quickly, and he frowned. The appearance of a Gate wasn’t something that he would normally take very seriously because he knew that there were many superhumans around who would be able to handle the Gate even if he didn’t go himself, but the fact that the system thought it was necessary to warn him about the Gate meant that this was a more serious situation than most others. Deep down in his heart, Jason felt like he already knew the answer to his next question. But he still had to ask.
"What color is it?"
The system sent back a single word.
[Yellow.]
Jason immediately narrowed his eyes as he focused his mind! The fact that a Yellow Gate was about to appear wasn’t the end of the world. There hadn’t been a Yellow Gate in America in nearly eight years, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t handle it. Right now, Jason had to make a decision quickly. The Yellow Gate appearing over New Jersey was likely going to be a great way for him to gain more subordinates and power, but he couldn’t go there. If Jason wasted time waiting for the Yellow Gate, then he was sure that the Lich would move to a more beneficial environment, and it would become impossible for him to defeat it and get its heart.
The only thing that was important to Jason at that moment was creating the [Elixir of Life] and saving Gina’s life, and Jason couldn’t afford to worry about anything else at that time.
’I’ll give the SMD a heads-up about the new gate and they can handle it themselves. I just don’t have the time to care about any other mission right now.’
Jason began to head back towards where Liam was standing, and Liam was surprised when he saw Jason approaching him with a serious expression on his face. Liam quickly left the other agents that were handcuffing Katariana and made his way toward Jason curiously.
"What’s wrong?"
Liam said this once the two of them were close enough to not be overheard and Jason gave Liam a straightforward rundown of exactly what was about to happen.
"There’ll be a Yellow Gate in New Jersey in the next two hours. You need to gather as many guilds as possible and deal with it before it breaks."
Liam’s eyes widened in shock, and he looked around to make sure no one was overhearing them before he spoke in a low whisper.
"Are you sure about this? How do you know it’ll happen?"
The threat of a Yellow Gate was not something anyone in the world could joke about! Even though it had been ten years since Gates first appeared, there had been fewer than ten Yellow Gate appearances in every country in the world! And a Yellow Gate appearing was still seen as one of the most dangerous things that could happen to a country! The last Yellow Gate that appeared in Greenland ended up taking the lives of over two hundred superhumans before it was finally closed by one of the Five Rulers! It was a very serious situation, and Liam had to be sure that Jason was certain of his claims before he started mobilizing anyone!
Jason looked Liam dead in the eyes and spoke seriously.
"You have no proof other than my word. But if you want to save that city, and maybe even the country, then I suggest you listen to my warning. Mobilize every single superhuman from B Rank and above and take them to New Jersey. The Yellow Gate will kill you all if you aren’t prepared for it."
Liam felt true fear filling his heart as he heard Jason speak, and once Jason was finished, Liam ran a shaky hand over his face! But something that Jason said suddenly made Liam pause in shock, and he turned to Jason and asked.
"What do you mean ’us’? Where are you going?"
Jason looked away for a second before calmly turning back to Liam and speaking in a slightly apologetic tone.
"I’m sorry, but there’s something I have to do. I can’t be there."
"What do you mean, you can’t!?"
Liam suddenly lost his cool, and nearly every agent in the room turned to him in shock! Liam’s face was contorted in a look of furious panic as he stepped close to Jason! Does Jason have any idea what he was doing here!? This could be the end of the fucking country, and he was leaving them to deal with it alone!? That was bullshit! Liam grabbed Jason by the shoulders and tried to speak some sense into him!
"You’re the strongest superhuman in the country and you’re saying you can’t be there!? We’re depending on you, for Christ’s sake! What reason could you possibly have!?"
Jason’s face was set in stone as he weathered Liam’s anger with ease. Jason understood that Liam was scared. No one would be able to keep their cool if they heard that they were going to be facing off against an entire Yellow Gate very soon, especially someone like Liam who was just an office worker. But Jason had his own battles to fight, and he was not going to abandon the woman he loved for anything.
Jason calmly took Liam’s hands off his shoulders and spoke reassuringly.
"I’ll return as quickly as I can, but you need to prepare for the worst-case scenario in case I don’t make it back before the Gate appears. Gather as many guilds as possible and make a plan to send the strongest superhumans into the Gate. You’ve proven yourself to be a dependable person, so I’ll leave things in your hands."
Liam’s face was still squeezed in furious panic, and he wasn’t able to even say a single word before Jason took a step back and vanished into the shadow beneath him.