Zarek strolled through Pensare territory with almost a bored expression on his face. Compared to what he was used to, this setup was far too pathetic.
The scouts were lazy, the elite groups weren't well formulated—it was about everything you would expect from a corporation-turned-gang. They had no idea how to set military objectives, didn't know how to form their teams with balance and intelligence, and had no idea how to properly protect their blind spots.
Before Zarek had even gotten close to their main headquarters, he had already wiped out all of their elite teams. Even back when his stats were inferior to theirs—while tired from endless battles at that—he had easily dealt with Wyatt and the others. Let alone now.
He was in the middle of training himself, but one wouldn't even be able to tell.
By the time Zarek was striding toward the main entrance, Pensare was already all but finished. Were there probably more elites on the inside? Sure… but by now, their numbers were so few that they didn't have a right to stand amongst the best of the city any longer.
Zarek held a rock in his hand and looked to the top of the skyscraper. With a strong step forward, he launched it.
Chi.
Atom Link.
Zarek cast the Talent onto the stone just before it left his hand.
'Convenient.'
Zarek chuckled, picking up another rock, casting Atom Link again, and then launching it.
From afar, he looked like a kid playing games—a hooligan casually chucking rocks at a billion-dollar building.
But Zarek's actions were very precise, and far more powerful than any child. Every rock he threw shattered a window, tumbling into offices one after another.
Every time he did so, another flash of understanding of the building reflected in his mind. Then he would do it again, and then again.
'Three is my limit, but that's fine.'
Zarek canceled some of his earlier Atom Links to form new ones, launching one rock after another.
'That should be enough.'
The commotion Zarek was causing wasn't small, and they were probably scrambling inside the building already. But Zarek knew exactly where they were and where they were coming from. So when he entered the building…
He was nothing short of a whisper of death.
…
Zarek rounded a corner, a pair of machetes formed by Temp Duplicate slashing out and decapitating a head. A river of blood followed behind them, the squishing cadence of his steel-toe boots echoing through the hallways.
Roars echoed and men and women alike gathered courage to charge forward, but the end result was much the same.
Too slow, too uncoordinated, too worthless.
Zarek almost felt like he was wasting his time.
In his previous lives, at least after the first, he never wasted his time with such things. But this time, he had no choice but to take a different path.
If Zade, Marx, and GFI were going to be an important part of his growth, he was going to need to pave out a path for them. He'd have to be less of a lone wolf this time and help out more than he normally would.
It seemed that in this case, he would be the one changing the landscape of the world.
BANG!
Zarek kicked out, the heavy oak doors of a corner office being wrenched off their brass hinges. They flew out with such strength that the trio waiting behind them felt their bodies shatter on impact, their bones turning to minced meat beneath their flesh.
A rain of bullets came fast and heavy, but most were caught by the heavy doors.
With a flash, a crossbow-shield unfurled itself on Zarek's wrist.
DING. DING. DING.
'It really is much stronger. Interesting.'
Atom Link wasn't helping much with his other Talents yet, but Zarek found that when using Temp Duplicate on the crossbow-shield specifically, the difference was like night and day.
If before the shield maybe had 5% the durability of the original, now it was closer to 20%. And that made it exceptional.
This meant one very important thing: if Zarek could combine a blueprint with his Atom Link sensory boost, he could make treasures far closer to the original now.
That was huge.
Finally, some good news.
Zarek threw out one of his machetes, splitting the head of one of the gunmen.
Grabbing at the air, he used Temp Duplicate again, forming a new Godsfall Steel machete to parry the blade of a new attacker.
His arm swiveled, his wrist twisting. The machete's edge rode up the side of the sword's body, slashing down on its hilt.
While the hilt held strong, it couldn't avoid the nick that formed—a nick Zarek used as leverage to pull the sword down and smash his forehead against the attacker's nose.
Blood flew, shards of bone ejecting themselves into the latter's brain. Zarek's Strength spiked to the point the fracturing of a skull echoed through the room.
One death came after another in a fluid rain, and soon, there was just one man left.
CEO Pensare stood behind his desk. He was a middle-aged man of Asian descent. His stature was quite tall, and though slim, he had a powerful masculinity to him. However, the greys in his hair underlined that he was long past his prime.
The katana he held tightly in his hands trembled, shaking so violently that the tip seemed to vibrate.
"I have… information for you… I only hope that… you can spare me… and my family…"
He tried to keep his voice as steady as possible, projecting the air of a man who was used to wielding a great deal of authority. All things considered, Zarek was quite impressed with his performance.
Those that didn't feel fear in the face of death only fell into two categories.
Either they had faced it so much they had grown numb to it…
Or they were fools.
Those that could face death and still maintain a certain air of bravery, though… those were the people Zarek respected the most.
Zarek's response, though, was completely unexpected.
"Have I killed someone important to you?"
There was a flicker in CEO Pensare's gaze, one that he couldn't hide in time. The question was far too sudden.
"Unfortunate," Zarek said plainly.
"Wait—!"
BANG!
A bullet tore through the CEO's chest. He took an involuntary step backward, his eyes wide.
Without the strength, he couldn't stop himself from falling out of the shattered window behind him… the very first window Zarek had broken with his rock.