Chapter 402: Paper and Canvas

Raven's message was very long, and Adam was quite perplexed by what he was reading. Raven seemed to have predicted the question in his mind, and the message went on to explain:

"I'm sure you must be very confused. Succubus Beth and I are in the same organization, so why would I plot against her. What you have to understand is that just because we're in the same organization doesn't necessarily mean that we're allies. In fact, there are many people in my organization that I don't even know as well as I know you.

“Most importantly, even though we share the same objective, we are competing against one another, and so long as she exists, I will never have enough people on my side. I want to use this organization to create an empire of my own, yet Succubus Beth is always able to recruit a bunch of newbies through special means.

“Those newbies are always able to earn a lot of points with her, and I really like some of those new recruits. Their abilities are very powerful and complement my abilities very well, so I'm very unhappy that they've been taken by someone else!"

At the conclusion of that last sentence was the first time that Raven had used an exclamation mark, and for someone as mild-mannered as he was, this was a very strong indication of his dissatisfaction.

Looks like he really is pissed off.

A grin appeared on Adam's face as he continued to read the message.

"Hence, I have sufficient reason to take her out, and I'm sure the same applies to you. We can work together to bring her down for our own ends. What do you say? If you agree, then let's meet up tonight at the old spot."

The old spot?

It took Adam a moment to figure out where this supposed old spot was.

It was Area 8, the area that the Hong Kong gang was situated in.

It was the place where their previous negotiation took place, and it was also where Adam had ambushed Hebi no Miko last time.

Come to think of it, Hebi no Miko seems to be working with Raven at the moment.

He and Hebi no Miko were sworn enemies, and given her personality, there was no way that she would simply let bygones be bygones, so Adam was worried that this was a trap.

However, after considering the situation extensively, he wasn't able to think of any better solutions.

The man in Peter's memories had left behind far too little information, and it would've been impossible to find him with just the clues in the memories of Peter and his colleagues alone.

If he were to use the police system, then an extremely lengthy process was sure to follow. In the past, whenever the police had launched searches for hidden fugitives, it had always taken months to reach an outcome.

The only ally of his who could gather any meaningful information on this case in a short time would be Thilan, but at the moment, Thilan was laying low and keeping a low profile due to the sensitive situation he was in.

Furthermore, even if he could investigate the matter as he pleased, it was still yet to be seen whether he would've been able to dig up any information, and there simply wasn't enough time left for Adam to take the slow approach.

It seems like he's already predicted that I'll definitely agree to his offer.

Raven seemed to always be able to see right through him, and that was a very uncomfortable feeling for Adam.

While Adam was lost in thought, Peter slowly regained consciousness, and as soon as he did so, he began to weep.

"You entered my psychic world just now, right, Officer Adam? You can see that I'm innocent, right? I was framed! Can you write down your observations to be used as evidence supporting my innocence in court?"

"My apologies, but it's very difficult for evidence collected from the psychic world to stand up in court as they could just be a figment of your imagination. Even if special circumstances arise, there's no way to determine whether you're suffering from mental problems, or took drugs at the time, or if some other factor affected your judgment."

.

Adam took a glance at Peter, then leaned down and whispered into his ear, "If we hadn't met before, perhaps I would've been willing to provide a more detailed record and leave the rest to the judge, but seeing as we have met in the past, all I can say is... Darvaza Prison welcomes you."

Adam patted Peter on the head, then turned to depart, but as soon as he stood up, Peter roared, "You weren't like this before, Officer Adam! I'm sorry, I truly am! Please give me another chance!"

"I wasn't like this before?" Adam thought back to when he first awakened, then thought of all of the deception and near-death experiences that he had been forced to endure. "Back when I first awakened, I was a blank slate. Do you know what a blank slate is?

“Essentially, I was like a blank canvas. As for how I became like this, this is how you and the rest of society painted me out to become. You were one of the brushes responsible, so this is karma. You painted filth onto my canvas, and it's come back to bite you."

Adam exhaled at the conclusion of his dialog, and in that instant, he discovered that he really had changed.

At the moment, he was definitely no longer a blank slate. Instead, he had turned into a dark canvas.

……

Ultimately, Adam decided to meet Raven that night.

Even if this were a trap, he had no choice but to go.

However, prior to his setting off, he gathered the psychic mutant trio, Shae, and Diana.

𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

After all of them had arrived in the lobby of the veterinarian hospital, he pulled Noah out of detainment.

"I need your help," Adam said in a direct and straightforward manner. "There's an extremely powerful anomaly in this man's psychic world, and it's far too powerful for me to handle on my own, so I need you guys to help me kill it."

"I'm happy to help," Mole replied. "But where are those subordinates of yours? Those serious-looking guys and that skinny guy who always looks like his mother just died."

"Are you talking about Guang Fei and those other guys?" Adam shook his head as he explained, "I don't want them to know my secret."

Even though Guang Fei and the others were technically his subordinates, in reality, they were only colleagues, and some of them couldn't even qualify as his colleagues.

Adam's secret was very important, and even though it had already been leaked to some people, they were all people who were in his inner circle.

If his secret were to be leaked, Adam had a feeling that he would immediately be hunted down by an adapter of the same caliber as the likes of Mr. One and Madam Tree.

Those two had to have been adapters on the same level as Hebi no Miko, and they could draw upon an immense amount of power thanks to their integral positions in the southern congress. Additionally, both of them were extremely intelligent, so they were definitely going to be far more difficult to deal with than a crazy woman like Hebi no Miko.

As long as they didn't decide to target Adam, he would be fine, but if they changed their minds, then Adam would've been as good as dead.

In addition to Mr. One and Madam Tree, there would've been far more people in the southern congress and the Guild of Immortality coming after him if they were to find out his secret, so he absolutely couldn't reveal it to anyone else.

"What about me?" Diana asked as she pointed at herself. "I know your secret as well."

"Well, I'd say you're also part of my inner circle." Adam didn't have much reservations when it came to Diana. "We've been through so many life-and-death battles together, and you're not very bright, so I don't think you'd... Oof!"

Diana put a premature end to the conversation with a straight punch.

With that, it was time for the true battle to begin.

"If we can take down this anomaly, then my powers will receive a massive boost." As Adam was speaking, he set up the psychic projector and assigned Shae to control the device from the outside. "It's been a long time since I used this thing.

“There's a slight delay between what's happening in the psychic world and what's being projected, so make sure to keep your eyes peeled. This is going to be an extremely formidable opponent, so any of us could find ourselves in life-threatening danger in the blink of an eye."