Irene's words created a solemn silence in ghost ship.
Varian looked up at Irene with a sense of respect.
Acknowledging one's faults sounded simple but was incredibly difficult. Especially for someone as lofty as a Sovereign. They were above everyone and everything. To them, apologizing was equivalent to tearing down their own ego and admitting that they were wrong.
Irene not only acknowledged her mistake but also apologized. She wasn't the first Sovereign to do it, but she was definitely the most sincere.
"I know nothing can make up for the pain, but please allow me to help you get them justice…if it's the only thing I can do." She pleaded with Enigma.
Enigma fell silent and clenched her fists.
Irene smiled bitterly but nodded. "I must be reminding you of unpleasant things, I'll take my leave."
And she was about to end the call when—
"Dreamer." Enigma suddenly said.
Irene stopped in her tracks and glanced at the man in white.
"Yes?" Varian raised a brow in surprise, but his gaze was quickly drawn to the dried marks around her eyes.
But her eyes now only showed indifference, as if nothing happened.
Somehow, that hurt Varian more than he thought. The more she acted like this, the deeper her pain was.
"You…you had a plan, right?" Enigma asked in a hoarse voice.
She was asking him for help. This was very, very foreign to her. Enigma didn't want to depend on anyone. Yet, her own mental state was as worse as it could get.
Even if she was willing to sit down and plan, strategizing wasn't her strong suit. Most of the plans of Shadow Guardians were actually formulated by Blue Flash while Enigma focused on important missions, and with her special teleportation, she did only what she could.
With her high progress speed, uniqueness, and miracle potion, the level 9s in the Shadow Guardians were convinced that she was to be the natural leader.
Enigma led by example and implemented key plans that saved millions of lives.
But now…she had no ask someone to save her.
Even though she tried to maintain her cool, the tremors in her voice didn't escape Varian's heightened hearing.
'I wish this never happened…but a lot of our wishes remain wishes.' Varian sighed inwardly and turned to Irene. When he did, he nearly gaped at the sight.
Irene was staring at him with a burning intensity.
'Tell me what I should do! How can I help? Tell me! NOW!'
Even though she didn't utter a word and Varian couldn't use telepathy across holograms, he was darn sure what she implied.
So, he said the truth.
"I need to kidnap Dr.Thomas."
"Huh?"
"Eh?!"
Enigma was taken aback while Blue Flash, who was checking the federation news opened her mouth in shock.
Irene froze for a moment and shook her head bitterly. "It's not possible."
Varian frowned. "Even for a Sovereign?"
Blue Flash raised her hand and waved at him. She was back to wearing the face mask, so Irene didn't know her identity.
Enigma and Varian looked at her in doubt, while Irene showed a curious expression.
"I think I know why." Blue Flash said.
"Go on."
"After Dr. Thomas submitted the Space Radar, he's viewed highly by Sovereign Julius. Currently, he is protected by level 9s." She explained with a defeated expression.
"Are you for real?" Varian gaped.
Level 9s as bodyguards? This luxury was too much even for Sovereign's children. Even the top scientists were only given level 8 bodyguards.
And Julius…
Enigma gritted her teeth and blood began to drip from her lips. Julius used the invention of Thomas to destroy the Shadow Guardians.
In her eyes, Julius was much worse than Thomas.
"It's true." Sovereign Irene confirmed Blue Flash's words and looked at him with a helpless expression.
"I can't take action personally. And even if I send level 9s for the mission…they won't be able to escape earth under Julius' eyes."
Varian lowered his head while Enigma and Blue Flash exchanged glances.
Irene Nial glanced at Dreamer who looked helpless and was about to console him. But she stopped herself and glanced back at the 'Blocker' in the lab.
This team of three somehow sneaked deep into Pluto, fought off a military base, and stole such a critical item.
She didn't know how much each contributed. But she did know, almost by hunch, that Dreamer…was the weakest of them all. Yet that same hunch told her another thing and it was enforced by her interactions with him—This man wasn't to be underestimated. What she knew of him was only the tip of an iceberg.
So, Irene waited for him to make a decision.
"No change of plans. I'll join the Gamma Expo." He raised his head and declared.
"…Wait, Gamma Expo?" Blue Flash raised her voice in shock and looked at him like he had gone crazy.
Irene Nial also stared at him in confusion. He didn't make any sense.
"Wasn't it Omega Expo?" Enigma tilted her head and asked in a weak voice.
"They changed the name." Blue Flash shrugged and swiped a hologram towards Enigma.
Gamma Expo was an event long teased by the Xander Family.
They were going to present a new set of potions that were better than Siloy potions and helped awakeners, including and especially high awakeners progress—Omega Potions.
But according to their confidential reports, the ingredients to Omega potion were stolen by Enigma and they were in no way capable of continuing the production.
However, without giving up, they persevered and found replacements through tremendous hard work.
The new product was called Gamma Potion.
While its effects weren't as remarkable as Omega Potion, it had a massive edge—it could be produced in relatively large quantities.
According to the internal testing, Gamma potions would push the awakeners' level in short term and would increase the progress speed in long term. The progress speeds up for:
Low awakeners by 20%
Mid awakeners by 10%
Level 7s by 4%
Level 8s by 3%
Level 9s by 1%.
Of course, the exact potion couldn't be consumed by a low awakener and a mid awakener. There were different variations in the potion.
For now, it was said that the potion for low and mid awakeners was ready.
So, low and mid awakeners from all across the federation were hand-picked to participate in the Expo.
They'd fight twice—before the potion was given and after the potion was given.
Experts would come and watch the matches before giving their verdict on the 'improvement'.
One of those experts was Dr. Thomas.
Thinking so far, everyone was clear about Varian's plan. While kidnapping him was difficult, if Varian got close enough, he'd be able to pull it off using ghost ship. Of course, the risk to his life by daring to do that was very high, but there's a bigger problem at hand.
"With your level, you can't participate." Blue Flash frowned and said in a disappointed tone.
As peak level 6, he couldn't enter the competition.
"I can do it," Varian said in a serious tone.
"If you're planning to suppress your level and pretend like you're breaking through, they can tell it apart." Blue Flash chided.
"Trust me on this. I know exactly what I'm doing." Varian said in an irrefutable tone.
Indeed, he could suppress his level 6 body path to level 3 using the system. But when he advanced, it'd be easy for the experts to tell the difference.
So, Varian had a different plan.
Though it seemed like Blue Flash didn't trust him.
'Not after the battle we just fought.' Varian sighed inwardly and glanced at the silent Enigma. She looked at him with confusion, but there was trust in her eyes.
Varian's lips curled into a smile.
He finally turned to Irene who was still waiting for an answer.
"I know the candidates are all selected already. I can't even hack my way in. So, please your resources, connections, and whatever you can to get me a place." He requested in a serious voice.
Irene rubbed her forehead for a few seconds before nodding. "I'll do it. But send me the exact details and I'll give you a disguise treasure."
"Thank y—"
"Don't say it yet." She stopped him and waved her hands. Turning her gaze onto Enigma, her eyes were riddled with guilt and grief, and with the same emotions, she whispered.
"It's not over yet."