Draco rose from his pod with a light smile on his face. After all, today was a very important day for him, a day he could not afford to miss or allow to pass by, for many of his actions over the past few months had acc.u.mulated to this.
The nanite fluid sloughed down his n.a.k.e.d body and back into the pod. Draco himself cricked his neck and flexed his body, feeling refreshed despite having stayed within the pod for a week.
He then walked over to check on Eva, a small smile forming on his face as he watched his wife floating in the pod's nanite solution with her swollen belly. She was entering the late-middle stages of her pregnancy, and it was beginning to show.
Not disturbing her in the least, Draco walked over to the wardrobe and picked a relatively tame attire. A red t-shirt, a black leather jacket, and black pants. He looked quite like the young hoodlum dressed like this, making him chuckle.
Draco then left his room and nodded to the two Sanguigno Brothers on guard today. "Brothers, I'll be going out to bring a friend around. Please get the car ready."
They were surprised, but nodded. They phoned downstairs informed the driver to get ready while Draco thanked them and headed downstairs. He noticed that the castle was now completely wired up, with every corridor being monitored carefully.
After all, while Eva and Draco might not be too worried about security, others like Jada and Jade also lived here and they weren't as infallible as the Evil Duo. Once Draco reached the foyer, two Sanguigno Brothers held the doors open in anticipation of him, making him smile gratefully.
Outside, the usual black sedan was parked, and he comfortably sat down in the backseat. The driver casually asked where he wanted to go and Draco informed him about their destination.
Soon, the black vehicle moved out, leaving their quiet neighborhood for the elite before joining up with the typical traffic as they headed to the other side of town.
Draco was silent as he gazed at the passing traffic, lost in his own thoughts. About an hour in, the driver dropped Draco at the airport.
The sedan then moved to park near the VIP car park which was reserved for certain bigshots only, as Draco walked through the airport's entry and searched for the waiting area.
Once he found it, he moved to sit down on a nearby bench and took out his Holotab. He ignored the looks he was getting from the passersby.
After having learned how to retract his Dark Angel Inheritance's passive attraction thanks to Eva, the unwanted attention he had been getting had considerably lessened, yet it also hadn't disappeared completely.
Some women still looked at him in longing, but now it was because he was handsome, not because they wanted to kidnap him and lock him in their bas.e.m.e.nt as a living s.e.x doll.
30 minutes after arriving he sensed his target with his Void of Perfection. Smiling, he rose to his feet and walked over to the person coming out of the 'arrival' checkpoint.
With two hands in his pockets, the tall Ao Shangtian wore a name-brand brown Lacoste shirt and some tight-fitting khaki pants that showed off his powerful legs. As for his feet, he wore Birkenstock sandals that had his name engraved on them.
Putting aside his above-average looks, his strong build and expensive wear attracted the eyes of many females and it was clear the fellow was proud of this judging by the satisfied smirk on his face.
There was no luggage waiting for him, as he hadn't bothered to bring any. He walked through the airport lobby while looking around casually. When he saw a man approaching him with a friendly smile, his eyes narrowed slightly.
He felt a strange feeling while looking at this fellow, as if he was an annoying fly he needed to smash into paste. However, Ao Shangtian smiled as soon as he deduced who this fellow was and thought about what he planned to do to him.
Draco hugged the large man before him with a fresh smile. "Brother Shang, welcome to the Central Country. I came to personally pick you up and bring you to the headquarters of Boundless World's developers, GloryGore Labs, so that you can get your DNA registered."
Draco grinned widely. "After all, it's only half the fun to experience many types of women without the actual ability to see the fruits of your loins, right?"
Shangtian laughed. "You're completely correct, Guildmaster. Today, I shall be in your capable hands, so please lead the way."
Draco brought the fellow out of the airport and guided him to the parked sedan. Seeing the brand and make of the car, a derisive expression appeared on Shangtian's face.
He had expected something expensive and flashy denoting the status of the number 1 Guild's Guildmaster, yet a common luxury sedan, the type often used by upper-middle-class was all he could spit out?!
Truly trash!
'I have to hurry up and seize the reins from this incompetent loser! Just look at his shitty attire, is he some sort of street punk or what? Sigh, Umbra's future can only be safe in my hands.' Shangtian thought to himself, even as he sat in the car.
The driver, seeing a new passenger sit down, greeted Shangtian, yet the fellow ignored him. The driver frowned and gave Draco a questioning glance, to which he shook his head and spoke up.
"Take us to GloryGore Labs."
"Right away, Brother Draco." The fellow answered with a smile, starting up the car and moving to pull it out of the parking lot.
Shangtian almost vomited blood when he heard the driver speak. Not only did he dare to frown when he had been ignored by a superior, he even called his boss 'brother'!!
What the actual f.u.c.k?!
Did that mean that since Draco also called him that, he was supposed to be brothers with his dog driver?? Shangtian felt like his world was spinning and all his meager goodwill towards Draco for his skill in combat started to quickly bleed away.
Shangtian shook his head inwardly. 'No, it's my mistake. Why did I expect him to be sensible in real life when he is already skilled in fighting? Apart from someone of my caliber, no one can be that smart or perfect, it's just the universe's way of balancing things out!'
Thinking that, Shangtian felt like he had been struck by a lightning bolt. Suddenly, everything made sense to him again, so he broke into a satisfied smile. His gaze towards Draco became devoid of disdain, but full of pity.
'This is why unremarkable people should not strive for more. Unlike that greedy dog brat Oliver Twist, sit down and eat your poor man's gruel in silence, how dare you stand up and ask for more?!' Shangtian harrumphed coldly and smirked.
Draco was leisurely humming a tune while tapping on his Holotab, playing a game. He didn't hide his screen, so Shangtian could see what he was doing, shaking his head even further, no longer even trying to hide it.
'Instead of catering to me, trying to strike up a conversation so he can get into my good books, he wastes his time playing childish games and humming like some princess... 'Brother' Draco, your eyes really seem to be just there for decoration, not even letting you spot people greater than yourself in such close proximity, sigh.'
Shangtian stopped bothering with this guy. He just wanted to get this DNA extraction over and done with so he could start his plan to forcibly i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e Umbra's top women.
He would start with those basic ones like Shani and Bella, then climb up to Slim Fatty and Loving Aunt, before finally devouring the crème de la crème Sublime Notion and Riveting Night.
He couldn't wait to see the expression on the faces of those impotent fellows as he dominated their women and made them live for his superior manhood. Even better, since he would become their Guildmaster, they would have to fight for his favor like the dogs they were, watching as their former lovers nursed his children before them.
Shangtian couldn't help but laugh a little, making the driver look at him through the mirror as if he was an idiot while Draco maintained a friendly smile.
Draco could of course sense the thoughts of the fellow beside him, but he didn't show any reaction inwardly or outwardly. Right now, he really was looking at the fellow like he was an important friend, which was why Shangtian never doubted him for a second.
Of course, at this point, anyone could tell that the fellow called Ao Shangtian, which was quite the arrogant name since it meant 'to proudly stand atop the heavens', was more known by a different moniker.
Local Lord!
The one and only reincarnation of Primal Pangu was seated right beside his mortal enemy, the reincarnation of Lucifer Morningstar, unaware of the fact because Draco was doing his all to suppress his bloodline and psyche.
From the moment he had spotted Local Lord, Draco had programmed himself to regard him as a very important friend and that it was paramount to allow him to get his DNA taken. To do that, he had allowed his silly/shameless thoughtstream to handle things while his evil/edgy and calm/pragmatic thoughtstream were greatly suppressed.
Hence to Local Lord, nothing seemed out of place. The fellow played the part of a friendly and gullible fool, the kind Local Lord loved to play to death the most.
He no longer saw the one next to him as his Guildmaster, not that he had ever regarded that position as anything but a stepping stone anyway, no he saw himself as an apex predator, with Draco as his prey.
Would a lion ever be worried when hunting a rabbit?
"Brother Draco, we're here." The driver announced as he parked in front of GloryGore Labs.
As usual, there was a crowd in front of their doors, consisting of those either protesting against the game, those trying to seek benefits through contacting the developers, and lastly the line of strangely rigid men bearing arms, preventing anyone from crossing a certain line.
Draco led Shangtian through this guard line with ease, the fellows there nodding to Draco with respect. While this attracted attention from those blocked, there was nothing they could do about it since these guards were armed and, as previous encounters had proven, definitely willing to use lethal force.
Shangtian gazed at this with envy in his eyes. 'Hmph, once I become Umbra's Guildmaster, I'll also be able to do this much! I can't wait to change its stupid name to something more regal!'
Draco led him through the various hallways, heading towards the special access elevator. The staff here had already grown used to the presence of Umbra's players, so no one even gave him more than a cursory glance.
Shangtian was led down the elevator and passed through the special membrane. He frowned after receiving that strange feeling, but wrote it off as excitement from being one step closer to fulfilling his awesome plan.
Once they reached the bottom floor, they were directly admitted to the front lab. This was an area that the AI had developed to house members of Umbra who came down here.
It couldn't just let everyone see its true form and hang around it. Who knew if there were spies in the guild waiting to come close so they could harm it?
Draco didn't step into the front lab, but led Local Lord into a special room. There, Shangtian saw a white room with a strange capsule-like device. Curious, he asked Draco: "What is this?"
Draco turned to Local Lord with a smile. "Brother Shang, this is a prototype VR Pod that allows users to enter Boundless with 100% immersion. By using it, you will be able to stay inside the game for long periods of time without having to pause and you will feel as if the world was no different from the real one. It also has the nifty feature of shaping your body into perfect form."
Upon hearing this, Shangtian's eyes lit up. "Ah, I heard about something like this being in development. So, this one here is for me?"
Draco nodded. "As someone who is going to be my right-hand man, how can I bear to watch you use that filthy VR Helmet like everyone else?! I only apologize that this one is not portable yet, so I have to ask you to make do for the time being. You'll get a custom one as soon as possible."
Local Lord nodded his head in agreement when Draco stated that he deserved better, and smiled thinly when Draco called him his right-hand man. Not waiting for the fellow to tell him, Shangtian walked over to the pod and inspected it.
"Hmph, it's passable. So, what do I have to do to enter?"
Draco patted his back. "Simply strip n.a.k.e.d and enter the solution. Once you do, everything will be handled from there."