Chapter 21: Villains and Evils
Klaus blinked at the introductions, unable to believe them solely because the person they were talking about was at most eighteen, if not younger.
He wore a baggy blue jacket over a black T-shirt featuring various gaming references, including console logos, controller buttons, and character names, with headphones around his neck.
Klaus looked at Martin and asked bewilderedly while pointing at Carl, "...Even corporations fear him? What do you mean?"
The corners of Martin’s lips arched upward; he stepped over to Carl, placed a hand on his shoulder, and said, "This fellow is a demon. He can break through even the strongest of firewalls and hack into their data. So they obviously fear him."
Carl shifted in his chair and looked at Klaus through the tent of his messy brown hair, dark circles covering his eyes.
Klaus met Carl’s gaze and wondered, ’Why is someone like him here? And how does Martin know him?’
For now, he decided to push those thoughts away and asked the system.
’System. You said he is the fourth evil, right? What does that mean?’
[Host, have you also turned blind? Great, now I do not just have to deal with a stupid person but also with one who cannot see.]
Veins bulged at his forehead, and he growled inwardly, ’Answer the damned question.’
[Although the world is no longer what it used to be. Do you think the people who have enjoyed ruling over it give up so easily?]
[No, they would not. So what they will do is rather simple: They will make public fear heroes’ transcendental powers and turn them into pillars of both hope and despair.]
[Then they will give them the only method to wash them of that fear: join the Global Government.]
[But one group will not follow their wishes and will be named Villains, and its seven rulers will be named Evils. With all being ranked based on how dangerous they are to humanity.]
’So you are saying he is simply someone who doesn’t wish to be the government’s dog?’ Klaus furrowed his brows.
[Host, it is not that simple. Fear does not originate from nothing; it needs a reason.]
[They will give the public enough reasons to be labeled as Evils. He is a devoted follower of Lady of the Hearts; you cannot think of him as someone who only desires freedom.]
Instead of answering his confusion, the explanation only increased it.
’Who is this Lady of the Hearts now?’
[She is the master of Villains and Evils. The first and most dangerous of them. If Host comes into contact with her without awakening, then the only thing you can do is kill yourself because your life will no longer be yours.]
A shiver ran down his spine.
What? What do you mean all I can do is kill myself? How can you say something so extreme without me facing her?
Sweat beaded on his forehead, his shoulders trembling.
[I do not need to witness a battle between a puppy and a lion to conclude that the lion would win. Effortlessly.]
Who is this damned woman, and why is this pervert so reliant on making her sound like an absolute being?
He didn’t know what to make of this. But one thing he knew: he needed to find out more about that woman, and if possible, build a connection with her.
Suddenly, though, Martin walked up to him and looked straight in his eyes.
"Why are you trembling?" He asked worriedly, though a bit of fury seeped out with it.
I don’t even know what’s going on anymore. Why is Martin here with this guy?
Fuck! I need to calm down.
He let out a deep breath and remarked inwardly, ’One step at a time.’
He cleared his mind of useless worries. The Lady of the Hearts was still just a normal woman, and he had over five years to meet her, so there was no reason to burn his brain cells over that.
He looked at Martin and then at Carl. "What’s wrong? Why did you call me here?"
Martin’s eyes sharpened. "I asked Carl to look into the companies you told me about, and much to my surprise, your information was true."
"Oh?" A surprised look appeared on Klaus’s face.
It hadn’t been more than a few days, and Martin had already verified that the information was true. However, he couldn’t understand how he and Carl managed to do it.
"How did you verify that?" He asked while rubbing his chin with a thoughtful look on his face.
Martin and Carl exchanged looks with one another, and the former said in a deadpan tone, "We hacked into them and checked their recent deals."
"???" Klaus’s eyes widened so much they nearly popped out of his head.
Seeing his absurd reaction, Carl chuckled.
"What the fuck?!" Klaus grabbed his head and shouted, "Are you fucking stupid? Why would you do that?"
Embarrassed, Martin rubbed the underside of his nose with a finger and muttered, "I had to make sure you weren’t doing anything stupid, okay? I don’t want you getting into trouble."
Klaus let out a stupefied breath and chuckled dumbfoundedly. "Do you think I am a child?"
He looked at Carl and said, "So what now? Do you plan to invest in them or not?"
"We won’t," Martin said, his tone unyielding.
"Huh?" Klaus placed his hands on Martin’s shoulders and asked, "Are you stupid? Why are you giving away such an opportunity?"
A vein throbbed at Martin’s forehead, and he clenched his fist.
"It is dangerous," Carl commented.
Klaus’s lips lowered. "What do you mean?"
Carl leaned back in his chair, grabbed a bag of potato chips from his drawer, and ate them as he explained, "These companies have all received high funding for hypothetical projects, which means there is no method to know whether they succeed or not. They would’ve been fair if it was something like AI, but they aren’t."
"It is a fake rise made by those up the ladder to..." He took a potato chip out of the bag and ate it. "*crunch* Throw out dumbasses like you from the game, and if we try to become one of them, we will decrease our lives by a lot."
Martin grabbed Klaus’s arms, placed them on his shoulders, and asked seriously, "How did you get that information, Kal?"
Klaus’s expression grimmed. Martin only called him Kal when he needed a direct answer.
’What do I do now?’