NOVEL FROG Chapter 121 – New seed [3]
After dropping the girls off at school, Prime didn’t head back home. Instead, he continued driving around the area. Without a specific destination in mind, he circled the school, keeping an eye out for any sign that something might happen to Ema.
As he drove, Prime's eyes landed on a burger joint a few meters away. Despite the distance, his advanced vision, far superior to that of any human, allowed him to see clearly. Prime tried to remember the last time he had a burger, but he couldn’t actually recall when that was.
While driving, Prime parked behind the burger joint. As soon as he got out of the car, he glanced around quickly and noticed he was the only one in the parking lot. The sounds of the city barely reached there, as the burger joint was situated in a quiet neighborhood.
Walking to the front of the burger joint, Prime opened the door, and the sound of a small bell rang out, announcing the arrival of a new customer. He sat near the door and cast a glance outside, watching the street through the window. Soon, a waitress came to take his order. After Prime placed his order, she went to the kitchen to prepare it.
As Prime observed the view through the window, he noticed a figure crossing his line of sight. It was a dark-skinned man dressed in unusual black clothing for everyday wear. Seconds later, the door behind Prime opened, and the familiar sound of the bell rang out again, signaling the entrance of a new customer into the burger joint.
Prime didn’t pay much attention to the newcomer, or rather, he wasn’t really interested. However, he already knew that the man had been following him for some time, ever since he dropped the girls off at school. As Prime had anticipated, the man sat down across from him.
Once again, Prime didn’t pay much attention to the situation. He merely glanced briefly at the man to take in his appearance. Even Prime had to admit that the man exuded a unique aura. Bald, with not a single hair on his head, the most striking detail about him was undoubtedly the eye patch he wore.
"I have to admit, Mr. Ryan, you’re quite a hard man to find"
The man across from Prime spoke in a friendly manner, as if he had known him for years. However, with his photographic memory, Prime was certain they had never met before.
"I don’t remember us meeting before. Honestly, if I had ever met someone with your appearance, I would hardly have forgotten"
Upon hearing Prime’s words, the man let out a brief laugh. Just as he had done with Prime, the waitress approached the man, and after he placed his order, she walked away. With that, Prime and the mysterious man were once again alone in the place.
"Well, you may not know me, but I know you very well, Mr. Ryan. I know not only you but also the truth about who you really are"
Upon hearing the man’s words, Prime finally became interested in him. The man, with the eye patch, stared intently at him, and Prime maintained the gaze for a few seconds before shifting his attention to the outside of the burger joint. During this time, with his heightened senses, Prime noticed that, besides the staff, there was no one else in the place or in the vicinity of the burger joint.
At that moment, Prime heard footsteps coming from behind him. Without turning around, he knew exactly who it was, as his senses were so acute that he could distinguish the footsteps without needing to look. According to his memories, only one person moved with such silence and naturalness.
When the figure sat down next to the man with the eye patch, Prime merely sighed. Although he knew the woman wasn’t ordinary, he didn’t expect her to be involved in such a peculiar plot.
"We’ve already evacuated the area, sir. We can proceed with the conversation"
Natasha was the one who sat down next to the man, and Prime stared at her for a few seconds, while she stared back at him. However, he wasn’t really interested in the exchange of glances. What was clear to Prime was that the whole scenario had been planned in advance. What he couldn’t understand was how they had predicted he would choose exactly that burger joint, considering it had been an impulsive decision.
"What do you want from me?"
As he said this, Prime let out a sigh.
"What do we want? Actually, we were about to ask you that, Mr. Ryan. We don’t know if you’re a friend or an enemy. As far as we know, you’re something far beyond our comprehension"
Prime looked at the one-eyed man, who seemed genuinely serious in his words. Although Prime didn’t know how the man discovered his true identity, he felt inclined to talk, at least for now.
"Did you come to arrest me or something? So far, I haven’t done anything to warrant an arrest. You don’t seem to know much about me. Can’t I just be someone looking for shelter?"
Prime found the man’s words ironic, but in the end, who could really refute them? It was evident to Prime that the one-eyed man in front of him only knew superficial information about him—probably related to his business, places he frequented, and data available online. That was all.
"If we wanted to arrest you, do you think we’d come to a restaurant and sit next to you? No, it’s true that you are something we don’t fully understand and, to be honest, many would like to see you behind bars. But I think differently. In my opinion, you could do something much more significant. I’ve heard you’re developing a new drug capable of curing virtually anything except diseases like cancer. Although I don’t know exactly how that’s possible, I know it’s done using your powers, right?"
Prime stared at the one-eyed man again, this time with a more serious expression than before.
"What exactly do you want from me?"
After saying this, Prime saw the one-eyed man reach inside his jacket. Moments later, he pulled out a document and placed it on the table in front of Prime.
(Initiative Avengers? What is that?)
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