Parasyte System

Deep in the South Zone, in another abandoned warehouse, which looked even gloomier than usual because it was already late at night and the moon, on this specific night, had been completely eclipsed by the clouds.

The interior of this warehouse, unlike the one that served as Metal Body's base, was completely empty and devoid of trace of human activity, or at least that's what it seemed at first sight.

"U-urgh..."

However, there was a certain part of the warehouse which was in stark contrast to the surroundings, where a nearly naked man stood tied up.

His build was thin and although he was not very tall, he wasn't short either, his brown hair was rather unkempt and dirty, evidence of the treatment he had received in the process of being brought to this place.

His hands were bound by a rope that was connected to a chain hanging from the ceiling, which forced him to stand and restrained him at the same time.

Although his appearance was certainly different from normal, if Jay were here, he would definitely be able to recognize this person...it was Noah.

Slowly opening his eyes, Noah began to survey his surroundings.

'W-Where...sh*t...' He thought, remembering what had happened.

He tried to move a little but the rope was so tight that it hurt at the slightest attempt to free himself.

Realizing it was useless, he quickly gave up and instead began to think about what he could do to escape.

"You sure do recover fast..."

"!"

Before he could think about it any further, however, the loud, vibrating voice of a man echoed from inside the warehouse.

Moving his gaze to where the voice had come from, Noah could see a large sized man surrounded by the shadows from the surroundings.

Although he could not get a good look at this person, something inside Noah told him that this person was someone with whom he should be extremely careful.

In fact, the pressure this person was emitting was even stronger than Jay's and the Wolf's Fang member combined!

"...Who are you...?" Noah asked

"You're calmer than expected, I like that." the man replied, seemingly pleased judging by the tone of his voice, "As for your question...my name is Jared, though I doubt you know me by that name."

'Jared...?'

Hearing the name, Noah's brain began to work quickly, trying to recall if he had ever heard any mention of that name-

But no matter how hard he thought, just as the man said, he couldn't remember anything.

Then, as if the man knew what Noah was thinking, he spoke again.

"To be honest..." He said, moving a little further forward and leaving the shelter of the darkness that hid his silhouette to approach Noah, "I'm best known for my deeds, for example, the time I took on several rank (C-) supers and made them run away with their tails between their legs."

'...'

"Or for example, the time I defeated a (C) rank Hero, ah, those were good times, you know?"

Not caring much about what Noah was thinking, the man continued to recount his supposed deeds as he slowly approached Noah.

Now that he was closer, Noah could see him better, the man was of great size, not only was his body stocky, but he was also quite tall, Noah believed that he must be at least 7 feet tall.

As for his facial features, he wasn't able to see them.

"But without a doubt, what I consider and probably is my greatest deed until now...is taking over an entire organization in just one week..." He said, with a big and proud smile on his face.

'...Ah...of the two groups in the South Zone...I had to fall into the hands of the worst...'

"Haha, looks like now you do know who I am eh, your expression changed quite a bit, you dislike my little organization that much?" the man said again, easily figuring out what Noah was thinking.

'If he really is the boss of Wolf's Fang...I could only try to stay alive as long as possible.'

"Could I know...how did you find me...?"

"Oh that, actually it wasn't us, but these Metal Body guys, they had also thought of catching you and since they seemed to know how to find you, we just followed them, we have good luck, don't you think?"

At once, the man pointed towards a corner of the warehouse, where the density of shadows was even greater.

"They put up quite a fight, but don't worry, they've already been neutralized so they won't be able to do anything."

Looking around that corner, although Noah couldn't see very well due to the darkness, he could vaguely make out what appeared to be three large lumps hanging from the ceiling.

Although Noah didn't know exactly what the man in front of him was referring to with neutralized, remembering the reputation Wolf's Fang had and their relationship with Metal Body, he was sure it would be best not to ask.

As for the fact that the real culprits behind his kidnapping had been the Metal Mody people, Noah wasn't too surprised by that fact.

After all, the only person who have discovered his identity was Metal Body's guardian.

'...But...they even went to this much trouble to catch me...is Jay really that important to them...?' Noah thought.

He could understand why Wolf's Fang, being a gang that preferred quality over quantity, would be willing to recruit a person as strong as Jay who was not only not part of Metal Body, but had even faced them before.

However, was that important enough for the boss himself to act?

Of course, there was also the possibility that the man standing in front of him right now was lying and was actually just an executive of one of the two groups...but that didn't make much sense.

Noah was already at their mercy, so there was no need to deceive him.

However, the biggest proof that this man was the real boss was the pressure he was emanating from his body, which reminded him of the time he and Jay passed through the South Zone entrance under the watch of a rank (C) super.

Except...this time it was much stronger.

"Oi!"

At that moment, the words of Wolf's Fang's supposed boss brought him back to reality.

"...Yes...?"

"You really are a bad listener..." Wolf's Fang's boss said.

He had been talking for a while, but apparently Noah had been so immersed in his thoughts that he hadn't heard him.

"Well, never mind, as I was saying...when do you think your friend will be here...?"

"...What do you mean...?"

"You know, your friend, the one who actually defeated the Metal Body guys and one of my subordinates."

"...That's me..." Noah replied, trying to look as confident as he could.

"Wow, camaraderie, how adorable." Said the man with a smile on his face, "But don't try to fool me, both your body and your energy are stupidly weak, it's obvious you're not the one who defeated my subordinate."

The reason Noah had replied that way, despite knowing it was a futile attempt to cover for Jay, was because he knew this situation was...hopeless.

He was in an unknown part of the South Zone, unable to move, with no way to communicate with the outside, with no special ability that would allow him to escape this situation.

Without...power.

But even if he had it, even if somehow his ability managed to evolve at this very moment giving him the strength to break free...Noah was sure that the man in front of him was more than capable of destroying his hopes again.

'...Again, I can't do anything...' He thought, remembering the way he had lived his life.

No friends, no money, and finally...no family, there really wasn't a place in this world he could call home...since his home had long since vanished.

He had always tried to see the better side of things, to see the best in the worst and move on, because that was the only thing he could do.

Surviving as best he could in this world where the only person he could trust was himself, ducking his head when he was picked on or abused because it would end faster that way.

With that mindset, no matter what happened, no matter how many times he suffered because of his lack of power, he had kept moving forward, saving money, planning his future and trying to see the better side of his current situation.

That is, of course, until the night he ran into Taylor.

That was the one of the extremely few times he resisted, not only to protect the little money he had on him, but also to prove to himself that the only thing he could do was not only to endure whatever happened, but that he could also rebel, that he could also fight!

But the bitter reality proved him otherwise, that even though he wanted to fight with all his might, it didn't change anything.

Fortunately Jay saved him, and not only that, but even gave him a new source of income as well as helping him with his biggest and most selfish dream, to take revenge on the person who made life impossible for him.

However, for that very reason, he was in this situation right now.

He found this situation ironic, he took revenge, but he paid a higher price for it, all for his own weakness.

'...I need to get stronger...If I get out of this...I'll tell Jay to teach me how to fight...' He thought, trying to cheer himself up a bit.

*Buzz*

Suddenly, the sound of a vibrating smartwatch could be heard coming from the arm of Wolf's Fang's boss.

After glancing at it, the boss' expression changed to a smile, the next moment, he answered the call.

[Boss, there's trouble, several members of the 29th district have fallen!]

"Ho, they started earlier than expected, it's a Metal Body joint attack, right? How many members did they send?" replied the boss.

Because it was still within the boss's expectations, he wasn't that surprised.

[That's the thing, boss, it's not several members, it's just one person, a young man!]