Chapter 546

Through the window, a small plane could be seen parked there, though it would have no passengers.

"Alright," Adrien said, "we tried Bates's way, now it's time for my way."

He threw a photo at 105's feet; it showed the internal structure of a firearm.

Under 105's confused and panicked gaze, Adrien pulled out a pistol and pointed it at his own temple.

"I'll count to three, and then I'll blow my brains out. If you use your ability, you can stop me."

The audience was amused by Adrien's threat.

"No way, is this guy serious?"

"What kind of logic is that? If you don't come back to the Foundation with me, I'll kill myself?... Then go ahead and die?"

"Well, is there a possibility that 'Iris' possesses, to some extent, the traits of a saint?"

"No, but this kind of threat doesn't hold up, right?"

"She's just a little girl. If someone committed suicide in front of her and told her he had to die because of her, imagine how much psychological trauma 105 would have."

"Stop it, this isn't funny." 105's face was full of tension.

"I'm not joking—if Bates and I don't bring you back, we'll die too. Starting from 'scratch' might be nice."

Adrien shook his head, his index finger resting on the trigger.

"One."

"Adrien, please!" Iris begged, crouching down, "Don't force me to do this..."

"You don't want to go back? Fine. But if you really want to go back, do it with my blood on your conscience."

"Two."

Iris screamed, "Stop!"

"Three."

"Click."

There was only the sound of the trigger being pulled; no gunshot rang out.

Iris knelt on the ground, one hand holding the photo, the other holding the firing pin.

Adrien quietly put the pistol back in his pocket and took out his phone, dialing a number that didn't exist in any phonebook in the world.

"This is Neil," the voice on the other end said, "report the situation."

"Adrien, affiliated with Mobile Task Force Omega-7," Adrien said, "just captured a confirmed humanoid anomaly. Restarting 'Containment-105' file, ignoring previous data claiming loss of anomalous abilities."

"Understood, Agent," the voice on the phone said, "we will have a containment cell ready when you return... what's left?"

"What's left..." Adrien took a deep breath.

The cold air rushed down his respiratory tract into his lungs, making the agent feel the chill of the world and the fact that his body still had warmth.

"Tell the O5s, if they make us do this kind of work again, Bates and I will both submit our resignations!"

"This is the shittiest thing I've ever done!"

Neil listened to Adrien's roar, feeling as if his face were covered in the other man's spit.

He pursed his lips:

"You know I did my best. The recent time has been useless..."

"Dantensen did this because he wasn't inhuman enough to treat a teenage child like an animal in a zoo! You take people from their families, lock them in cells, and treat them like—"

"Listen, my friend. I understand, believe me, I really do." Neil silently placed the back of his hand against his forehead.

"But we can't talk about this on an unsecured line. Get back to Site-17 as soon as possible, and we'll figure out what to do. I'll do my best to deal with the O5s, but if 105 doesn't come back, I have no leverage. Do you have a transport route?"

Adrien had calmed down quite a bit:

"There's a helicopter waiting for us on the pad. We'll fly to the nearest site and wait for further instructions there."

"Go."

Neil was silent for a long time before he continued:

"Listen, I think we have a fair chance of at least getting these less dangerous humanoid anomalies to gather together more often."

"Let's talk when we meet. Technically, I'm still on leave. Adrien, over."

After speaking, he hung up the communication and, together with Bates, "accompanied" 105 to the helipad.

Along the way, no one noticed the unmarked black helicopter on the pad, nor did anyone notice the three passengers crossing the runway.

That was how it should be.

"Where to?" the pilot asked.

Adrien was the last to enter the cabin, "The nearest Foundation site, as fast as you can."

"Then let's go to Yellowstone."

"Whatever."

Adrien entered the cargo hold and saw the blonde girl curled up in the corner.

She looked as if she had been kidnapped and was about to be trafficked somewhere, her hands clutching her shoulders tightly, her eyes full of resentment as she looked at Adrien.

"She hates you to the bone," Bates said to Adrien.

The rotors began to turn, the whirring sound echoing in the cabin.

"As long as she's alive, she can hate any bone she wants, from her skull to her toe bones."

"Aren't you going to talk to her?"

"She hates me, you talk to her."

"Why do I have to be the one to persuade a rebellious little girl?" Bates muttered, "But you're a trained psychological expert, right?"

"Yeah, but you're a woman, aren't women supposed to be... you know, naturally suited for soothing others' souls or whatever?"

"..." Bates punched him, "You're writing the report this time."

Adrien sighed, watching Bates walk over to 105 and begin to converse with the girl, who was full of resentment.

He shook his head, took out his notebook, and began to write under the pale light of the cabin:

【Retrieval mission successful, I have classified it as:】

【"Recovering from the pain of death from 'Containment-173'"—it's not bad to describe it that way in the report...】

The scene gradually zoomed out from Adrien's work, passing through the metal cabin of the helicopter, watching the black mechanical bird fly toward the distance.

Then, the screen faded to black.

A moment later, the audience heard rhythmic breathing.

It was easy to think of sweet dreams, and every morning one didn't want to wake up.

"Agent Adrien?" the pilot's voice came through the communicator.

Adrien's consciousness returned to reality, but he sat up, bleary-eyed and aching from sleep, then slumped back into his chair.

"Speak." He pulled the communicator over, yawning.

"You told me to call you when we were ten minutes from Yellowstone, so we could call Yellowstone Site. Um... we have ten minutes left."

"Ah, yeah." Adrien yawned again, "Wait, I'll go to the cockpit."

He entered the cockpit, sat in the co-pilot's seat, picked up his helmet, and put it on, "Connect me to the site."

"Which site?" the pilot asked.

Which site could it be, isn't it that site... the site we are flying toward...

No, which site is it...

"Site..."

A cold current ran through Adrien's body, from top to bottom, piercing through him.

"Agent Adrien?" the pilot looked at Adrien's face.

Adrien frowned, but couldn't squeeze anything out of his brain.

"I, I can't remember. Where were we heading, pilot?"

A faint sense of dissonance pulsed in his heart. Adrien's reason told him that something seemed wrong with his situation...

However, a hazy curtain seemed to shroud his thinking; he didn't know what was wrong, and felt that everything was perfectly reasonable.

This slight deviation made the agent increasingly vigilant.

He stared at the dials on the helicopter for a long time, struggling to flip through his memory, trying to find the source of the dissonance in his heart, until the pilot's voice came:

"I, I'm not sure either... sir."

Adrien rubbed his temples, looked up, just about to relax his mind, when he saw a scene that terrified him.

His pupils dilated instantly, "Pull up!" he screamed. ===== CHAPTER 548 =====