Boom!
Varian watched speechlessly as Bali teleported out of the room and punched down at them.
A huge flame fist covered his arm and was ready to rain hell on them.
But thankfully, a very thin, and almost transparent wall was separating Varian's group and Bali.
Thus, the attack fell on the wall and simply dissipated.
Varian expected things might get out of hand, so he arranged a safety measure. Thankfully, it saved them.
"Look, we had a big emergency." Standing on the opposite side of the transparent thin wall, Dreamer raised his hands and tried to calm him down.
Bali was shaking uncontrollably as he said. "I know what you really want. You want to experiment on me, don't you? After I trusted you? Hahaha…"
His laughter stopped suddenly and he said with narrowed eyes. "If you think kidnapping me can make submit, then you got the wrong person. I'm not afraid of even death."
"…" Varian was silent, considering his next words.
Right then, a video started playing.
"Open the door!"
"Open the fucking door!'
"Why are you locking me up?"
Bali was seen banging the door with an anxious expression on his face, nothing like the menacing glare he's showing now.
"…" Bali felt his face burn when he saw Dreamer, Enigma, and Blue Flash stare at him after watching the video.
For a second, he even forgot his rage for being locked up. As a 90-year old man, this was beyond shameful.
And then, his anger erupted again. Was it really funny to mess with a person like this? And now they're about to laugh—
Instead of laughing at him, Dreamer lightly bowed and apologized in a sincere tone. "I'm really sorry. I didn't know you had trauma regarding…being isolated."
"I don't have any su—" Bali tried to deny, but was cut off by Dreamer.
"It's fine." Dreamer shook his head and looked into his eyes. "If you're stable now and promise not to attack, the wall will go. And I'll also explain why we neglected you for a few minutes."
Bali fell silent for a moment before nodding, but not without asking a question. "Only a few minutes? Not hours?"
"…It's been two minutes and fifteen seconds." Blue Flash said in a weird tone.
"…" Bali took a deep breath. Thankfully, while he still had his fears, his near-century of living wasn't for nothing.
Even though he was very uncomfortable being treated that way, he was no longer an impulsive teen. His near-century of experience taught him that listening to both sides of the argument would usually prevent a lot of conflicts.
So, he decided to give them a chance.
Suppressing his rage and anxiety, he nodded. "I'm cool now."
"Just so you know, if you try anything funny, this ship has the power to kill you with ease." Blue Flash said in a confident tone.
"…" Varian's face under the mask twitched, but he simply nodded to her statement.
Bali already had a fear of the ghost ship and her words, which he'd have otherwised dismissed were taken seriously by him.
It was also the effect Blue Flash intended. It wasn't honorable, but to be safe facing a peak level 9, it was the only way.
The wall disappeared and Bali felt his space sense freely expanding. Of course, a few areas here and there were blocked, but overall, he was once again 'free' and no longer 'locked up'.
A boulder in his heart was put down and Bali sighed in relief.
So, he looked at Dreamer and considered attacking. In the end, he decided to listen to the other party's explanation.
Dreamer understood Bali's implicit question and snapped his fingers.
A hologram played out and showed Bali entering the ghost ship. Then, it was chased by hundreds of patrol ships.
It quickly threw them off, but all of a sudden, a streak of lightning started chasing the ghost ship.
Bali's eyes widened and he gasped.
Thick bolts of lightning shaped in the form of spears, swords, even dragons and phoenixes were shot at the ghost ship.
These weren't ordinary attacks. Each of them were powerful enough to blow up a large meteor.
If a small moon took a couple of these attacks, it'd be blasted into pieces.
And for the next two minutes, ghost ship narrowly avoided these catastrophic lightning attacks.
Bali's heart hanged in his throat and only when the ghost ship due to a lucky opportunity did he sigh in relief.
He then looked at Dreamer and asked with an incredulous gaze. "Is that him?"
Dreamer nodded. "It's Sovereign Ares. It was a tough call."
Bali sucked in a breath of cold breath. If one of those attacks hit him, he'd be dead without any power to fight back.
Bali was once again reminded of the difference between level 9 and Sovereign. And it only strengthened his resolve to reach the almost legendary state.
Dropping his shoulders and exhaling, he said. "I still can't believe we actually escaped from a Sovereign."
"We didn't. He let us off." Dreamer shrugged.
"Wait, what?" Bali opened his mouth in shock.
"We asked Sovereign Irene for help…and after she contacted him, he let us off." Dreamer said in a light tone.
"And I think he was just testing us until then. He could've hit us, but chose not to."
"Testing for what?" Bali didn't understand.
"Whether Sovereign Irene is really helping us. If she is, she'd contact him. If she didn't, then he'd kill us."
"Heavens…so, I almost died?" Bali asked with a weird expression.
His emotions were now a fucking mess. He decided that he'd rather be a locked up than travel with Dreamer once again.
"We wouldn't have died. Don't worry." Dreamer said nonchalantly and waved his hand.
A comfy couch appeared behind him and Bali's body collapsed onto it.
"And how are you friends with Sovereign Irene…wait, the cluster cities' crisis, is that you?"
"We can discuss that later," Dreamer said and with a snap, three more couches appeared, and now, the team were all seated. Just…Enigma was a bit too distant.
"So, here's the plan." Blue Flash started explaining in a serious voice.
Dreamer added his own points from time and time and in the end, the CFT advancement and cross tunneling to Pluto's dungeon shocked him to the core, the mission of infiltrating Pluto all by themselves caused him deep anxiety and he nearly questioned his own sanity and finally, the prospect of uncovering a great secret made him excited.
Finally, he looked at Enigma and said . "I didn't think our first meeting would be like this. If you're really innocent, then I thank you for everything you've done for humanity and I'll do everything I can to avenge your fallen comrades. They're brave soldiers."
If she wasn't innocent…he knew exactly what he'd do.
Enigma simply nodded. Bali didn't talk much either and turned his gaze back to Dreamer.
"So, what level are you, exactly? I can't even sense any aura on you." He said slowly, trying to hide his shock and palms that were still sweating in fear from what he just discovered.
On the surface, Dreamer had no aura and looked like a completely harmeless and unawakened person.
But…when Bali's senses probed deeper, he felt a jolt down his spine.
The harmless Dreamer suddenly gave off a huge sense of danger. It wasn't exactly him…but he seemed to have a power in him which was enough to instantly wipe out not only him, but the entire solar system.
It was a terrible feeling. Hundreds, if not thousands of times terrifying than facing a Sovereign.
For a second, Bali wondered if Dreamer even needed his 'help'. After ghost ship's data was leaked, everyone thought Dreamer was a weakling. But they were all dead wrong. Even if his level was low, he had something far more dangerous.
"My level?" Dreamer chuckled.
"Hm. We need it for the mission." Bali said with a serious face.
To be sure, he didn't need to know.
He and Enigma would act in a group while Dreamer and Blue Flash would act as another group.
Each group had clear instructions and had no need of contacting the other group.
It's just…
"My level is sufficient for the job." Dreamer said in a hearty tone and added. "I haven't fought in a while, so I'm excited."
Bali didn't feel excited though.
He felt like he boarded a pirate ship.
And he was right.