The Bloodline System

Author's Note: Unedited Chapter

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"So long as you got it, that is all that matters," Gustav stated with a nod of satisfaction.

"Hmm? Where did Aildris and Ria go?" E.E.'s eyebrows creased in confusion.

He certainly couldn't sense them within or around the apartment so it had him wondering if they had already left after failing to convince Gustav.

"They're out... engaging in a task to prove their capability," Gustav answered while crossing his legs.

"You really gave them something to do?" E.E. voiced, his eyes glinting with interest.

"Of course. SJ is watching them now so I should get feedback within an hour," Gustav responded in anticipation.

"You really don't want them to come with you, do you?" E.E. questioned calmly.

"No, I do not," Gustav answered bluntly.

"I wonder just what crazy task you gave them," E.E.'s thoughts ran amok.

Gustav smirked in response, "You'll see... soon."

"Pass the dark sample to Endric. We should be off soon," He added.

E.E. took an item out of his storage device.

Despite being kept within a container, dark energy still oozed from the sample. It wriggled continuously like it wanted to escape E.E.'s grasp.

"Let me take that off your hands," Endric twirled his finger, causing telekinetic energy to wrap around the container.

Fwwhii~

The container floated towards him in the next instant and he grabbed it.

"You can head to the spacecraft and get it warmed up. I'll be with you in a minute," Gustav instructed.

"I don't wanna miss their return, but alright..."Endric stood to his feet.

"Is she..."

He pointed at Sersi but before he could complete his sentence, Gustav uttered a strongly disapproving, "No!"

Endric shrugged and turned around to leave. It made sense that Gustav wouldn't want Sersi to be a part of the next journey. Considering that he was skeptical about Ria and Aildris' participation, he definitely wouldn't give Sersi a single thought.

"I hope it's alright if she stays here with you. She's not from Earth so she really doesn't have anyone on this planet," Gustav turned to E.E.

"Sure thing, man. I have no issues with that," E.E. responded with an unbothered tone.

"Thanks. Maybe you can enroll her in..." Gustav suddenly paused as he sensed something.

E.E. noticed the strange look on his face and voiced, "What?"

Gustav squinted his eyes before speaking, "Are you expecting visitors?"

"What? I am n..."

Before E.E. could properly respond, a loud bang resonated across the building.

With it, came the appearance of two MBO officers. One of them was a face E.E. was familiar with, having seen her that day.

"Sorry about not using the door... you see, I had to visit uninvited," A feminine but husky voice laced with naughtiness drifted into his ears.

"General Reina..." E.E. gulped saliva while staring at the hole they made through the window that led to his balcony area.

E.E. turned to face where Gustav was seated, only to see that it was empty.

"Why would you barge into my place like this, General Reina? This is totally uncalled for," E.E. immediately regained his confidence and began berating her.

"It is inappropriate... a traitor shouldn't be stripped of their rights to complain," General Reina took slow steps towards E.E. while speaking.

"What are you talking about General?" E.E. questioned with a befuddled expression.

"Don't play stupid. You and I are very much aware that the universal fugitive has been on earth for some time... and guess who accommodated him during his stay here?" General Gustav spoke while giving E.E. a very intense glare.

"I don't know what you're talking about General... the appearance of the universal fugitive was confirmed to be a clone as we all know," E.E. continued to play it off as completely clueless.

"Yes we all know about that... but what everyone doesn't know is that the real Gustav faced the clone and most likely faced the world's strongest as well. This is why the clone is nowhere to be found... because he was involved in its disappearance," General Reina began to walk in circles around E.E.

"But you knew this, didn't you?" A smirk appeared on her face at this moment.

"Why would I know that, General? Besides, all these are assumptions. The identity of that person is unknown," E.E. was screaming internally but managed to keep a calm face.

~sigh~

"You really want to keep playing around eh?" She stood before E.E. and placed her index finger on his chin.

"You know, I'm giving you the chance to share the glory with me. Just hand him over," She demanded.

"Ahem" E.E. reached out to grab her finger and slowly took it off his chin, "Like I said General, I don't know what you're talking about. If you believe what you're spouting so much, you're free to search my place."

"Oh is that so?" General Reina took a step back.

"Have at it," E.E was a bit on edge due to how suddenly the whole situation had unraveled but he did his best to keep his composure.

General Reina turned to face Officer Gohan who had been standing behind the entire time.

He shook his head as if in response to a silent question she had thrown at him.

Her face bore an indescribable expression as she looked around.

"Who is this person? I never knew you lived with someone," General Reina turned to face Sersi who was seated on the sofa at the other end.

"She is a distant cousin. Is my relative not allowed to stay with me? Or is that some treacherous crime?" E.E asked with a rhetorical tone while moving closer to Sersi.

Sersi was smart enough not to engage in the ongoing dialogue. She only smiled in response and sat quietly in place.

General Reina had a dissatisfied look on her face as she began to walk around the apartment. Officer Gohan remained at his initial spot while a green glow appeared in his eyes.

General Reina returned to the living room after a few seconds.

"You really won't hand him over? The offer to share the glory of turning him in still stands," She said to E.E with budding frustration.

E.E knew well that so long as General Reina was unable to physically locate Gustav, she really couldn't do anything.

General Reina seemed to be scanning the premises with her senses but couldn't come up with anything even after minutes had passed. She thought her mind could be playing tricks on her and even visited different spots within the apartment physically. All to no avail.

"I'll give you a piece of advice now... I better not find out that his presence on earth is linked to you in any way... or you will be sorry," She looked E.E dead in the eye and unleashed a bit of her energy.

'Beta ranked... she's on the same rank with Gus...' E.E was a bit worried but stood his ground.

"There won't be anything to be sorry about, General. I don't harbor criminals," E.E voiced in response.

"Pfft," General Reina scoffed while walking away.

"Make sure you contact me if you decide to change your mind about joining me to turn him in," She stated from the balcony area, sounding almost a hundred percent certain about her claim.

"What are you doing, Gohan? Let's go," She yelled to Gohan who was still standing in place.

Gohan green glowing eyes dimmed as he spoke.

"He was lying."

"What?" General Reina voiced in confusion.

"That girl isn't his cousin. I searched the records with my mind, connecting all his families all across the earth. From parents to uncles, to aunts to cousins to grandparents... all of them. I saw it all, dead and alive. Officer E.E is not related in any way to this girl," Officer Gohan pointed at Sersi with a look of suspicion.

'Shit!' E.E yelled internally while gulping saliva.

"Well, you see..."

'I've got nothing...'

E.E was a terrible liar so he was having difficulty coming up with a tangible explanation that wouldn't make the situation seem more suspicious.

"She actually happens to be my neighbor's daughter, you see... My neighbor is not indoors at the moment so she decided to wait here. I don't want things to look off with some random girl in my apartment when I have a girlfriend, that's why I said she is my cousin," E.E did as quickly as he could to piece his lie to the best of his abilities.

"Your cousin... your neighbor..." A smile appeared on General Reina's face as she began to walk towards E.E.

"What lie are you going to spin next? Your sister's friend?" She added with both a sarcastic and serious tone mixed.

'Damn, maybe I should have used that one,' E.E nearly faced palmed.