"I've really run into some trouble, man."

"I don't need much, just a few good C03s will do. I promise I'll behave myself and not cause any trouble when we get there, buddy."

The person in charge was silent for a while on the other end of the phone before speaking.

"You should know that Europe has paid a heavy price for your raid mission."

“The council’s higher-ups are already dissatisfied. If you still had your special abilities, it wouldn’t be a problem, but now? You’ve become a cripple, Sergio.”

"Most importantly, we thought you were dead a long time ago."

"Since the person I'm talking to is someone who's already dead in the database, why should I waste my time?"

The other person's voice was clearly very steady.

But it exudes an endless chill.

"Are you fucking joking?"

"I'm still alive, and I still have the authority to access forbidden items."

Sergio was stunned for a moment. He had anticipated the day when he would lose his usefulness, but he didn't expect it to come so soon.

"That's true."

"But haven't you understood yet?"

"We have found a new experimental target and are working on obtaining samples."

"For example... never mind, there's nothing more to say to you about this."

"Just stay in that dead state; it's a good outcome for everyone."

"By the way, considering I slept with Chris back then, I can give you a piece of information. South Africa... ha, that's really interesting."

"So it was a dead man in charge, Stanford. Your dear brother-in-law must remember that well, right?"

"He has been reborn, all thanks to Gore's planning."

"All I can say is, good luck, Mr. Butterfly Effect."

The call was disconnected, and when Sergio tried to call back, all he heard was a muted tone.

Fuck your mother, Eoubs!

"I'm so damn angry... these ingrates."

He almost couldn't catch his breath, and just as he was about to say something, a gun barrel was pressed against the back of his head.

Stanford's voice came from behind Sergio: "It's been a long time."

At that moment, he understood that he could not escape that fate after all.

“You know what, my dear brother-in-law?”

"Actually, there's something... I've never told you."

"Your wife smells quite good—"

Before he could finish his trash talk, Stanford fired a shot.

The bullet entered through the back of the head, causing the entire skull to explode in an extremely exaggerated manner, spraying brain matter and blood over a distance of several meters.

A few seconds later, the body fell backward.

Sergio is completely dead.