After scanning the middle-aged man's complexion, Leon, who had spent the night sleeping in the wild, sniffled and asked with a concerned expression,
"You don't look so well. Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
*Why don't you think a bit and guess why I might not look well after seeing someone?*
The middle-aged man's answer to the clingy small Baskin came almost through gritted teeth.
To be fair, compared to a certain prince who was preoccupied with hierarchy and power struggles, the middle-aged man's emotional control had improved significantly after witnessing the country's downfall and the kingdom's destruction.
After taking a deep breath, he managed to regain some of his usual calm. He didn't lose his composure due to unexpected circumstances but instead smiled faintly and continued at an appropriate distance,
"As for my body, there's an important meeting today, so I stayed up late last night and may indeed be a bit tired... Oh right, didn't you go home last night, small Baskin? Why did you sleep here?"
Of course, it was to attend the important meeting you mentioned.
Besides, without enough intelligence gathered, the grandparents with memory abilities unlocated, and another potential Prince Joshua undiscovered, how could I leave?
Moreover... Why do I feel like, compared to the killing intent the fat uncle mentioned, this rebel leader's look towards me holds even more dread?
Through the subtle change in the middle-aged man's demeanor, Leon inadvertently squinted his eyes, noticing some differences.
There was no way he could leave; definitely impossible!
Given a rare chance to confirm the Aquarius Director's whereabouts, if he didn't take advantage of this window to understand the rebels entirely, he courted death should the Director's inquiry fails and he returns to the Capital City, only for Leon to sneak into the rebels again.
And now, with the most formidable Aquarius Director partaking in the inquiry, the remaining rebels likely had no way to handle the Heart of Ambition, at most capturing him. Yet, he still had the Whale Oil Bomb that senior Jerry gave him.
According to senior Jerry, its power could obliterate an entire building instantaneously, so if he got caught due to exposure, he could always cry for Young Ha to throw the Whale Oil Bomb, blowing their faces directly!
From the few rebels he had encountered, the ability of these anomalous object holders seemed very singular, making them unlikely to have protective abilities. At close range, even a Nail Gun could be too much for them, let alone if they faced a Whale Oil Bomb head-on, potential total annihilation was possible.
Great! The advantage was mine!
After quickly assessing the enemy's strengths and weaknesses and confirming that not only would he be in no danger, but he also had the ability to "unfairly pass," Leon's heart settled completely. Then, playing the role of "small Baskin," he gave the middle-aged man a rather "aloof" smile.
"Didn't Uncle Owen ask me to come find you yesterday? I feared oversleeping would delay matters, so I simply came over last night to keep watch in advance. Looking at it now, the timing is just right."
"Heh, you are quite cautious."
After exchanging a few perfunctorily polite sentences, the middle-aged man opened the door and entered the "meeting room" first, heading to the head of the long table to sit down.
Speaking of which... Why does small Baskin feel a bit off?
Watching him consciously sit at the very end of the long table, directly opposite himself, a hint of doubt flashed through the middle-aged man's eyes.
Although he didn't know how Owen spoke to him, small Baskin must have already known he had shown hostility towards him yesterday.
However, not only did he not leave overnight, but he also came knocking on the door, even pretending nothing happened last night. These actions practically belonged to another person, not something the paranoid and cold small Baskin could do.
But if he was not the real small Baskin, then what about those lethal questions last night?
Although he noticed the suspicion in the middle-aged man's eyes, thinking he feared him more than wished to kill him, judging that he wouldn't strike first, Leon's actions became considerably more "unrestrained."
After surveying the rebels' "headquarters," "small Baskin," sitting with his back to the door, asked with some anticipation,
"Weren't you going to have a meeting? Why haven't the others arrived yet?"
With a knowing glance at "small Baskin," the middle-aged man checked his wristwatch, maintaining a calm demeanor as he replied,
"They'll be here shortly..."
Before the middle-aged man had finished speaking, a rather rough noise of a door being opened echoed, accompanied by a peculiar exclamation.
"What a fragrance! It's the smell of yesterday's tiger!"
What fragrance? Tiger?
No way... Do the rebels' diets really have such variety? Eating even tigers?
Leon turned around in surprise to find that the previously solid wood door had, somehow, become a strange iron gate... or prison cell door.
And a man covered in extensive burns was striding through the cell door, his two vicious orange-yellow eyes brimming with interest as he studied him.
"His name is Teague."
After a succinct introduction, the middle-aged man, with a blank expression, said to the burned man,
"This is small Baskin, a soon-to-be member with an anomalous object..."
Upon hearing this, Leon timely interrupted,
"If by anomalous object, you mean the special power, then I think I already have it now."
Upon hearing "small Baskin's" words, the middle-aged man's complexion changed slightly, and the dread in his eyes became several degrees more intense.
To awaken anomalously without even possessing the "Seed of Abnormality" —could a Level One Talent really be that terrifying?
"Uh-huh, I understand."
After several seconds of silence, the middle-aged man, having regained emotional stability, took a deep breath and, having no clue how to handle this hot potato, vaguely nodded, fudging his way through. He then instructed the burn-scarred man, who was fixated on "small Baskin,"
"Teague, take a seat first. I'll introduce small Baskin's situation once everyone arrives."
Usually indifferent to the "weakling" leader, this time, due to something occupying his attention, the burned man didn't object, directly sitting next to Leon, with those more beastly than human eyes fixated on him.
"Do you want to be the leader?"
Lightly dilated nostrils, savoring the "强者芬芳" rushing from his nose straight to his lungs, the burned man grinned, revealing a set of dazzling white teeth, and beamed at Leon.
"You're much more reliable than him, and if you want to be the leader, I'll support you!"