He really meant what he said. Returning to the city is truly going to be a difficult challenge for him to overcome after leaving it.
It is as if he just escaped from a pot placed on a stove. The stove is unlit, for now. He doesn't know when the stove will start working. But he knows that when it does, he won't be able to leave the pot before he is cooked. He can only be cooked into a broth.
Sure, the water in the pot is cool. But that is only currently. He doesn't know about the future. The thought that death can come for him at any time doesn't allow him to have peace of mind.
He has gotten out of that situation right now. And if he has his way, he won't ever return to that situation again. So he was very serious about the chances of him living in the wilds from now on.
He thought to himself in pity, "The only thing I wish I could have brought is my hoverbike. I don't want to lose it."
He only thought about it. He didn't voice it to Wrath because she might pause her rant in order to make fun of him for being scared.
The thought that Wrath might pause her rant for something more important, like making fun of him, made him chuckle. Then he focused on the upcoming meeting.
He didn't take any gun or explosives with him. He is in the major leagues now. The days of dealing with enemies with external objects are over. Unless he gains a weapon class ability, any weapon he carries with him will only be a burden.
He is sure that there are powerful weapons in Earth-11 that can harm him and those stronger than him, but those weapons are few and very expensive to use by those who possess them.
Bar weapons of mass destruction, his hands and the abilities he carries with him will be more than good enough. The fact that he is currently running faster than his hoverbike can move is another piece of evidence to prove his point.
It took him about one hour to reach his destination. In his books, that is a long time.
It was certainly too long when the destination is one of the random abandoned cities out in the wilds. He had passed many of them on his way. It was not a location that stood out, so there must be something special about it that he couldn't see.
Wrath also thought so. She said, "They chose the meeting place, so the large distance between this place and the city cannot be a coincidence."
He nodded and said, "Either there is something important here that they need and made them come all the way here for a meeting, or they intend to do something here that needs to be done far away from the city."
Wrath said, "Or both."
His future subordinates had their pick of locations to choose from, but they chose somewhere far away from the city. That alone is enough to make him suspicious of the location.
Wrath was also suspicious, and Red Dream had wanted him to know that they were up to something. So he decided to scout the location to see if there is any danger.
He went around the abandoned city looking about as he got closer to the house where the meeting would take place. He could already see people and cars patrolling the location from afar.
There were a lot of cars and people. It is clear that they are ready for him. They are only waiting for him. But he didn't rush. He took his time walking in circles around the location.
However, he didn't sense anything dangerous apart from incursion zombies. He also didn't see anything dangerous with his two eyes. It was odd because he expected to see at least one armored tank.
Not that a tank would be able to take him down, but it will indicate what sort of thing they plan to do if they want to deal with him. But as it is, he didn't see any indication that they planned to deal with him.
He only saw people patrolling the abandoned restaurant where the meeting will take place. These people were fighting off the incursion zombies and keeping them away from the restaurant. That was all to see.
He muttered to Wrath, "It seems whatever they plan to use against me will be related to a superpower. I wonder what kind of superpower they have that they think will be able to deal with me."
Wrath replied, "There are a lot of abilities that can deal with a super with diamond skin."
He said, "I know. Diamond skin is not without its weaknesses, or I wouldn't have been able to get it. But I wonder what they plan for me if even Corpos gave up on forcefully recruiting Stella."
Wrath shrugged and said, "I guess you'll find out soon."
He nodded. "I guess so."
Then he shifted his physique into diamond and began approaching the restaurant.
As he approached, he used Extraordinary Perception to gauge the power of the guards. He didn't see anything out of place. Most of them were unranked. Only a few of them were F-rank.
His presence attracted the attention of the guards. They pointed their guns at him at first. But then they lowered it when they recognized him.
They had heard the description of how he looks from Red Dream, so they made way for him. Not that they could have stopped him if they tried. They all appeared to be white in his senses.
His Extraordinary Perception deemed them as harmless white lambs now that he has equipped his diamond physique. And just like lambs, it would be very easy for him to butcher them.
He passed by the guards and entered the restaurant. The leaders of the gangs were all here. In fact, their number has increased to 11. Together with Red Dream, there were 12 gangs represented here.