Chapter 11: Being Watched
Nothing happened.
Gregory thought, his gaze swept through his room, he saw his room being the same, nothing was moved, at least that was how it appears to be.
"Good."
He calmly muttered.
His gaze drifted towards the side of his pillow, there was a hidden camera there, he had set it up last night, just in case.
He looked through the footage, there was nothing, the camera hadn't been tampered, at least he assumed not directly.
It's good that they probably didn't enter my room, what about my sister's?
He walked out of his room, his barefoot almost stepped on a few drops of water, he saw that his sister was safe and let out a sigh of relief.
"Hm? Big Brother? Do you want to go to the toilet?"
She asked as she was about to enter.
Gregory shook his head.
He goes to the living room, stares at the outside world through the window, the sky as black as always, the noise of vehicles roaring filled the air, the usual day in here.
He let out a sigh.
They're quite rude to enter someone's home without permission.
He thought, it seemed he had realised that they had entered his home.
It was an unreasonable conclusion.
The methods he used to detect them doesn't show anything close that they have even been inside his room let alone being in his place.
No evidence.
I do have evidence.
He thought, he walked back into his room, the door wide open and stared into the floor.
There were streaks of water droplets forming an arc that ended only when the door was fully opened.
His gaze drifted upward, on top of the door he had placed a small plastic packet filled with water. Now empty.
He looked at the door's head jamb, there was a small needle taped on.
It has all been part of his trap.
When the door is closed, the needle has already been inserted into the plastic packet and due to its position, when the door is opened the water would drop slowly from the opening.
Despite the dampened effect of Magic, I could still pull off something like this. I really need to gain an EGO to protect my sister and myself.
He thought, his gaze locked onto the floor, there had been traces of mana present. It was the reason as to why the water hadn't dried off yet.
That wasn't the only trap he had set up, as you had known the first trap he checked out was the camera, the camera trap also worked because it was a two-in-one trap.
The enemy was smart, and one of them seemed to have a technology-related ability. They tried to neutralise my trap but thankfully I could still use Magic.
He let out a relieved sigh as he walked into his room and grabbed the camera, it appears to be untouched and that untouched state was the reason he managed to figure it out.
The enemy couldn't notice mana hence I imprinted into the camera a certain mechanism that would automatically slightly modify the camera's internal structure using a pre-determined algorithm while still recording for every two minutes.
He calmly explained as he mentally noted the timing of the change and when the mechanism was triggered again.
The timing's off by 17 seconds.
He concluded.
They must've noticed that I've prepared a trap for them. I need to feign ignorance.
He walked out of his room and was greeted by his sister.
"Ah? Big Brother Gregory, the breakfast's finished."
She said with a warm smile on her face.
Gregory replied with a nod as he sat down.
"Thanks for the food."
As he was about to eat, he noticed that his sister had already finished.
"Are you running late?"
Naya replied, turning her head towards him.
"Well, kind of…"
Gregory squinted his eyes in suspicion.
"Don't tell me you're actually a thing with Dorian?"
Naya quickly denied it firmly.
"No way, it's just that I was on the call with my senior and was told that they really need all workers on the site asap."
Gregory nodded in understanding as he waved goodbye to her.
She returned it back and went outside.
"Well, now I'm all alone."
He muttered as he let out a long sigh. He intends that to be a half-assed bait for the stalkers.
It didn't take much time until he finished the meal and washed the dishes.
He could still sense them, somewhere, their movements had become much more unpredictable, not to the level he couldn't see them but at the level where it began to require much more effort than usual.
"This target is rather intelligent, that trap of his is quite impressive, how come this guy wasn't in any of the Zone's important persons database?"
One of the stalkers muttered, grayish-white hair, eyes colored in brown, in front of his eyes was a thick gooey object heavily resembling a binocular colored in grayish-black.
"Then it must've been that he isn't always this smart, a man would change after a near-death experience, let alone after a real death experience."
Another one commented, on his right hand rested on his right shoulder was a massive rifle, behind him stood a monstrous six-eyed creature.
"Vindell, Jacob, be prepared, it seems to me that we haven't fully eased his suspicion yet, he already noticed us due to his mysterious detection power and Dewland twins wouldn't be able to distract him and cover for our presence for long, so we better be prepared to capture him in time."
Another one said, his voice calm yet tense as he take a peek at the direction of Gregory's home.
Suddenly a voice called out his name.
"Boss Gray, the target seems to be going out, have we prepared enough?"
Philipe Dewland asked, bright orange hair, tall and skinny figure, a huge vertical scar cut through his left eye leaving it blinded.
"Why do we need to be so careful anyway? He doesn't seem that dangerous, I could probably take him on by myself."
Another voice spoke behind Philipe, it was his little brother, Arceon Dewland, his hair colored in a darker shade of orange, a small cut present under his right eye.
"He's smart, not only that mysterious, who knows? He also has returned from death, and as I reported before, he was killed by an Abomination and his soul was gone."
Jacob spoke, his hand trembling at the thought.
It seems they have noticed my movements, I should quickly get outside, I'm going to take my chances.
Gregory thought, his gaze unfocused as he fixed his clothes before the mirror, he stared at his reflection. No, Gregory's reflection.
Deep down, he was still Nathaniel Lee.
Was that really the truth?
Was he truly using Gregory as a mask?
He didn't know.
No.
I shouldn't distance myself from Gregory.
I am Gregory Vonhatten, and I am also Nathaniel Lee.
He doesn't act like them.
The previous Gregory wasn't as smart as him.
And Nathaniel wasn't as cold and calculating as him.
Maybe, I am not them. At first, the body awakens as Gregory Vonhatten, and then the memory and consciousness of Nathaniel Lee overrides it.
He was a new person.
A combination of Gregory and Nathaniel.
The person that walked through a new path as a new and improved, Gregory Vonhatten.
Yes, that's me.
I am a new person.
Not the previous Gregory, not the transmigrated Nathaniel.
I am Gregory Vonhatten, the foolish brother of Naya, the fragment of the God of Knowledge, the Human without a Soul.
He let out a chuckle. His gaze was like a bottomless pit, for he was a being who had no soul hence there was nothing to see beyond the window.
He walked out of his house, locked the door and went downstairs.
His footsteps followed a consistent rhythm, his gaze drifted forward as he continued to walk.
He looked to the side, a speeding red car passed by, the design was similar to the car he saw in his old Earth.
His sense continued to warn him of the gaze that watched over him like vultures.
His right hand was kept inside his pocket holding three poker cards, his left hand swayed to the front and back as he walked.
Do I need to buy a firearm? They seemed really persistent…
He thought for a moment and as his eyes landed on the sign of a firearm shop ahead, his decision was solidified.
Through small movements of his right hand inside the pocket, he carved into one of the cards a sacrificial rune that would cause their observation of him to be temporarily distorted.
As he slightly passed by the firearm shop and slightly tilted his body as if trying to enter the barber shop, his left hand also pulled his top hat down to cover the upper-half of his face.
He triggered the rune and the effects began to take place as the card burned away as a result of being a sacrifice.
His form began to turn slightly blurry and turned into an unmoving statue to the stalkers.
21 seconds.
He only had twenty-one seconds to purchase a firearm, exited the shop and positioned himself in a satisfactory manner.
He slid backwards after making the ground he stood on slippery and pushed him back using minor wind magic.
As he noticed that he was in the right position, he dispelled the magic and dashed into the store.
He decided to purchase a simple handgun for self-defence, he could still detect that the stalkers hadn't unnecessarily moved and remained vigilant which worked in his favor.
He grabbed a blue card from within his coat and snapped it in half, suddenly the solid card exploded into multiple hexagonal-shaped blue coins. Each has the number 10 etched into it in a black-colored bold font.
His gaze landed on the price table present on the register's surface, he searched for the handgun's price and it appears to be 230 Credit and a box of 120 ammo was 6 Credit.
"29 BDT."
He muttered as he placed the necessary amount on top of the register before he slid out into the open again.
9 seconds left.
He only had 9 seconds left.
He concealed his handgun under his coat and walked forward and entered the barber shop.
He walked towards a barber with an empty seat, right hand deep within his pocket and using his left hand he handed him 4 BDT.
"Thanks for the cut, man."
He spoke with a distorted voice, as his voice reached everyone's ear, he used another poker card as sacrifice for another rune magic, a minor memory altering spell.
The time has reached zero.
They had moved.
Good, now I can just walk out of the barber.
He thought as he gave a casual wave towards the barber.
As he walked out of the barber he went towards the shortcut he had always gone through, the shortcut that bordered the Outskirts.
They're quite patient to wait this long…
He internally laughed as he placed his hand around the handgun he had.
He turned back as he saw that the stalkers had decided to reveal themselves, a grim expression decorated his face.
This is my only chance.
I'll try to gamble with my life, if I can defeat them then I'd have a way to find out how to gain an EGO but if I lose, I'd probably get kidnapped, though that also has a slim chance be a way to obtain EGO…
Fuck it.
If it fails then so be it!
I'm sorry my dear little sister, Naya…
Your brother will have to be a foolish guy yet again for one more time!
To be continued…