Chapter 128: Last Member

Adam lay on the jungle floor, chest rising and falling steadily.

Above him, fragments of sunlight slipped through the canopy.

Small cuts lined his arms and torso. Nothing deep or fatal.

He turned his head slightly, to see Remedy standing a few meters away, hands on her knees, breathing controlled but heavy, like someone who had just finished a long-distance run.

She had minor cuts too.

Adam looked back at the sky.

“Was that all you’ve got?”

Remedy straightened slowly.

“Yes.”

She walked over and extended a hand.

“You really pushed me.”

Adam took her hand and let her pull him up.

“At least I can tell there’s no issue with my body,” he said.

He placed his hands on his waist and twisted slightly.

Crack!

His back popped.

“But I’m not so sure now.”

Remedy shook her head lightly.

“A potion or two will fix that.”

Adam nodded.

“I know. I’m just being dramatic.”

She chuckled.

“I didn’t take you for the dramatic type.”

“It’s an on-and-off thing.”

“I see.”

Silence settled between them for a moment.

Adam broke it.

“By the way… got any tips on how I can improve?”

Remedy looked at him carefully.

“Well,” she said, “if I have to say anything you lack proper combat training.”

Adam didn’t react defensively.

He listened.

“Your battle style is built around your special talents,” she continued. “They give you instant leverage. Instant control.”

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

“That makes you overwhelming against weaker opponents.”

She paused.

“But predictable against those stronger.”

Adam exhaled slowly.

“So basically, I’m a fraud.”

Remedy shook her head.

“No.”

She corrected him calmly.

“I think ’bully’ fits better.”

Adam was silent.

He understood.

Against weaker foes, he suppressed instantly, with Mind Control, Petrification, Rapid, Stone cold and the new bone generation.

But against someone like the Lord…

He had been toyed with physically.

“So to improve,” Adam said, “I just need to get good at fighting normally.”

“Yes,” Remedy replied simply. “In simple terms, you just need to get good.”

Adam nodded.

It was clear now.

The only time he had trained properly was the six months before his rebirth.

After that…

Equip gave him power.

Special talents gave him shortcuts.

There was never time.

Or maybe he just never thought he needed it.

Now he knew better.

Talents are tools. Not foundations.

He clenched his fists again.

Guess I have to put in the extra work then.

****

Adam and Remedy returned to the cave in silence. They cleaned up what little remained.

Minutes later, Adam was dressed in a black-and-white T-shirt and green cargo trousers and Remedy wore black jeans and a simple blouse.

They stepped out of the cave.

Adam expected her to clear the room they had stayed in somehow

Instead…

The cave exploded from a controlled detonation. The stone collapsed inward and sealed the entrance entirely.

Adam glanced back at the debris.

That’s one way to erase evidence.

He said nothing and followed her into the jungle. From a distance, they looked like two people on a casual walk.

Not two martial artists moving through one of the most dangerous wild zones.

Adam finally spoke.

“So. What’s the plan to take down the Family?”

They hadn’t discussed it properly before. His healing had taken priority, and most attempts at strategy ended with him blacking out.

Now he was fully recovered and there were more excuses.

Remedy answered without slowing.

“The obvious part? Cultivate. Grow as fast as possible.”

Adam nodded as he said.

“But strength alone won’t be enough and the fact you’re here already proves that.”

Remedy nodded once.

“Yes I’m fully aware it won’t be.”

Her voice shifted slightly.

“The Family isn’t a clan. It’s an organization older than most regions in the Alliance. They’ve existed since the formation of the Alliance itself.”

“They have influence everywhere. Sectors. Supply lines. Intelligence networks. Research divisions.”

She glanced at him.

“Taking them down is like toppling half a millennial empire.”

Adam processed that.

“So how exactly,” he said calmly, “does a sixteen-year-old regressor and an eighteen-year-old who handles corpses bring that down?”

Remedy didn’t hesitate.

“We start from the ground up.”

She looked forward, eyes steady.

“We build something strong enough to trample them.”

Adam nodded slowly.

“That, I can stand behind.”

He shifted his gaze.

“So how do we do that?”

Remedy replied immediately.

“I’ve already started by establishing a small group.”

She paused.

“And you’re the last piece we needed.”

Adam didn’t show much reaction.

But internally, he let that settle.

Then he asked the question that had been bothering him since the cemetery.

“Why do they target low-tier sectors in the first place?”

Remedy stopped walking.

Adam stopped too.

The jungle grew quieter around them.

She looked at him for a long moment.

Then she said quietly…

“It has to do with…”

****

The café was empty, as Ross sat alone at one of the tables, white dreadlocks resting over his shoulders, tea-shade glasses hiding his eyes. A newspaper was spread open in front of him, untouched coffee growing cold beside it.

Silence pressed against the walls.

Then…

The bell above the café door rang and a man in a black suit entered. Pince-nez sunglasses, clean posture and controlled steps.

He didn’t greet Ross, he simply sat across from him. Ross didn’t lower the newspaper.

The man sliding a file across the table will then say.

“The Relatives have decided to place you in charge of the Tristan Operation. In recognition of your success in the previous mission.”

Ross slowly lowered the newspaper.

“The Relatives only know how to reward good work with more work.”

The suited man didn’t react.

“That will be all.”

He stood and left, the bell ringing again, as silence returned soon after.

Ross stared at the file for a moment, clicked his tongue, then vanished.

Outside…

A demolition squad moved in.

Within seconds, the abandoned café detonated, as the structure collapsed inward.

Dust filled the street.

Workers moved in immediately to clear the debris.

As if the place had never existed and the meeting had never happened.

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