BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

Erik's heart was pounding. He not only got rid of a thorn in the side, but he also got Nathaniel's incredibly powerful brain crystal power. Erik felt satisfied as he watched Nathaniel's lifeless body lying on the ground.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA. THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR BEING AN ASSHOLE!" Erik then spat on Nathaniel's headless body. Erik's actions resulted from Nathaniel's attempts to kill him twice, one of which even involved other people, his friends.

However, things didn't end there. If Nathaniel had asked for help to kill him, then it was likely that he talked about him with the others. For this reason, the awakener decided to check his phone to see if there was something about him on it.

The young man then started searching Nathaniel's body for his phone, but he had to act quickly since he was out in the open with thaids in his surroundings. Erik's eyes searched Nathaniel's pockets, jacket, and pants. Finally, he found what he was looking for a small black smartphone. He quickly pulled it out and examined it. It was a newer model, in black coloration, sleek and modern, and Erik knew that it would surely contain information about him. The phone was still on and had a few missed calls and messages.

Without hesitation, Erik connected to the phone through his biological supercomputer. He was able to bypass the phone's security measures and access its contents easily through his cheat-like powers. He could feel the data flowing into his mind, a rush of information that threatened to overwhelm him. He focused his thoughts and began sorting through the data, searching for everything Nathaniel had said about him.

Erik knew that Nathaniel was crazy and that several more people could be involved in this whole ordeal; he needed to find out if and what he had said to protect himself from any potential harm. As he went through it, Erik noticed there were a couple of messages that mentioned him and that were sent to a guy named Achim. He also saw that the two called each other four times: twice during the previous day and twice that morning. Erik's heart started racing as he realized that Achim could be a potential threat to him. Thanks to the biological supercomputer, he quickly memorized the phone number. He decided to dig on his own to find out who Achim was and what his connection to Nathaniel was.

Luckily, there weren't any more people, but since the two talked about him briefly through messages, judging by their content, it was clear that this guy was aware of what Nathaniel was going to do. However, he didn't have other information, as the two probably talked through voice. Erik quickly proceeded to erase the entire contents of the phone.

There wasn't anything else valuable on it since it hadn't been long since Erik last connected to the device. Every message, every photo, and every bit of data was wiped clean. He felt satisfied as he watched the phone's screen go blank. But Erik wasn't done yet. He knew that he couldn't just leave the phone lying around for someone else to find.

He had to destroy it. He threw it on the ground and then stomped on it several times, destroying it easily with his strength. The device exploded in a shower of sparks and smoke, its components scattering across the ground. The phone got pulverized.

However, it became evident that wasn't enough; the guys that came with him had been contacted in some way, so Erik had to check on those guys' phones to see if there were any clues leading to him. For this reason, he left Nathaniel's body there and got back to the alley where he had been attacked and where he led the thaids to take care of the other kids. However, he felt relieved that no one could link him to the prick's death through his phone now that he had destroyed it. He quickly left the area, feeling like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Erik made his way back to the alley where he had confronted Nathaniel's goons.

As he approached the entrance, he could see the result of the thaid's attack. Multiple monster bodies were lying around in and outside the alley; the guys had fought against them, but it was unclear what had happened to them.

However, the body of the guy Erik had killed was lying there, half eaten by the thaids. Erik approached the body and searched for the guy's phone. After he found it, he connected to it through his biological supercomputer and quickly found out there were no messages or anything remotely related to him. However, there were two calls from the guy named Achim. They talked through voices; maybe they met at some point; who knew?

It was evident that Achim was the one who recruited these thugs for Nathaniel. Erik swore he was going to take care of him too. After erasing the phone's content and smashing it, he looked at the alley again. Aside from the thaids' dead bodies, it was deserted, and there was no sign of the four guys who were with Nathaniel before.

Erik's instincts told him that something wasn't right. He cautiously stepped into the alley, scanning his surroundings for any sign of danger. As he moved deeper into the narrow passage, and avoiding the bodies of several small, grotesque thaids lying in a pool of blood—some mutant rats with twisted and malformed bodies—he noticed that at the end of the alley, there was a door that had previously been closed, but that was now busted open.

It was metallic, with no markings or signs to indicate what lay beyond. In front of it, there were several thaids' bodies, which made it difficult to enter. The young man knew that whatever happened took place here.

<Going inside one of these buildings was a wrong move...> Erik could already infer what happened to the guys, not only because he had assessed their strength before and they were not that strong, but even because fighting in such places was dangerous as they offered no protection whatsoever and only trapped people inside.

Erik's curiosity got the better of him, and after having moved the bodies out of the way, he cautiously made his way toward the door. He hoped that the monsters already took care of the kids, as he didn't want to have anything to do with them too. With a deep breath, he pushed open the door on the side and stepped inside.

Erik was met with a horrific scene as he stepped into the building. Blood, gore, and dead bodies littered the floor. His hunch was correct, as it was clear that a battle went on here, and it was gruesome. He cautiously made his way through the mess, careful not to attract any possible thaid that still lingered around the building. It was then that he spotted something that made his heart rejoice.

There, on the ground, were what Erik deduced were the remnants of the kids that came with Nathaniel. He was sure about this since their clothing remnants were still on the ground, albeit ripped open. Besides them were the guys' phones, who had been clearly killed by the thaids. Aside from that, there was nothing else—no bone, hair, or brain crystal—only the clothes, phones, and blood remnants.

Without hesitation, he connected to the phones through his biological supercomputer. He searched through their contents, looking for evidence linking him to the scene. Again, he found some calls made by this guy named Achim. There was no conversation with Nathaniel, no mention of his name, and no mention of what they were going to do. Nothing. With a sense of relief, Erik deleted all of the data from the phones.

<At least they were smart enough to try not to implicate themselves like idiots...> Erik thought.

The next second, he destroyed the phones, making sure that all of the data was irretrievable. Erik knew that this was the only way to ensure that no one would be able to trace the data back to him or his associates.

"System, have you turned off any camera or recording device in the surroundings, right?" Erik asked.

[YES. I'VE DEACTIVATED 1478 DEVICES SINCE YOU ASKED ME.]

"Good." That was a very high number of security cameras, and he didn't even go that far from the Red Palace yet. He wondered how it was possible that, with so much security, there could still be so many criminals around.

With this, Erik was sure he couldn't be linked to these deaths. Now, the only thing the young man had to do was find a place to hide safely.

For this reason, he decided to head to the closest shelter, aside from the one at the Red Palace. If he was not wrong, there was a shelter one or two kilometers from here, and that should have been empty since there weren't many kids around this part of the city, as the western district was mainly made up of offices. The young man then left the building and headed toward the place.