Recruiting Matt

North Pacific.

On a deserted island.

A dejected figure sat on a rock by the shore.

He had sat there quietly for twelve hours.

The sun passed overhead, then set in the west.

It was as though a curtain had fallen across the sky, and darkness began to settle in.

The only thing that remained unchanged was him.

The rising tides churned endlessly, never ceasing.

Yet they could not stir even the slightest ripple in his heart, stagnant as dead water.

Just then, the roar of helicopter rotors sounded from the horizon.

A Black Hawk Helicopter rapidly flew toward him.

Hearing the familiar sound, Matt felt as if his thoughts had been dragged back to Seattle.

He instinctively became wary.

But there was only one helicopter, and it carried no weapons.

Under Matt's watchful gaze, a tall Black man descended the rope ladder hanging from the helicopter.

He had not brought any subordinates with him either.

"Who are you?"

The Black man walked up to him and extended a hand. "Allow me to introduce myself. James Torres, head of the Federal CIA."

Perhaps because he had been subjected to research and experiments in the base for two months, Matt was filled with hostility toward anyone from the federal government.

Disgust immediately flashed through his eyes. "If you don't want to die, leave now."

Torres raised both hands to show he meant no harm. "Don't be like that, Matt. I just want to have a proper talk with you."

"I have nothing to talk about with you people."

"Listen, Matt. I know the military bastards hurt you badly, but you need to believe that not everyone is like those lunatics.

"General William, the one who captured and imprisoned you, has been recalled by The Pentagon. I believe he'll pay the price he deserves.

"Of course, that isn't the main reason I came to see you today."

Hearing this, Matt calmed down somewhat.

He looked at Torres again. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"Listen, Matt. Maybe you don't know about some of the things happening in the world right now.

"Before that, take a look at this."

As he spoke, Torres handed Matt a tablet.

Though confused, Matt eventually accepted it.

After turning it on, a video began to play.

Andrew's declaration to the world!

"Andrew!!!"

Lightning flashed in Matt's eyes.

Just as Andrew had never expected him to still be alive, he had never expected Andrew to be alive either.

And Andrew had become even more beyond saving, even proclaiming himself the God of the New Age!

"That's right. Andrew Detmer. He's completely insane now.

"Not only has he slaughtered tens of thousands of people, he forcibly occupied Bahrain, a small country in the Middle East, with military force, destroyed one of our extremely important military bases there, and even wiped out the Fifth Fleet stationed there. Now he wants to wage war against the entire United States. He even destroyed the World Trade Center."

"You could just send more troops to suppress him."

"Bahrain is wealthy, and its military strength isn't weak, but it was completely useless against him.

"We also tried long-range missile strikes, but our greatest concern is that there are still many innocent civilians where Andrew is located.

"The missiles are too powerful. They could end up harming those civilians as well."

Torres made it sound nice, but in truth, as long as they could eliminate Andrew, they did not care about the civilians in Bahrain at all.

The problem was that any missile approaching Andrew would inexplicably malfunction due to magnetic interference.

The magnetic interference around his location also prevented satellites from accurately pinpointing him.

If they detonated the missiles outside the interference zone, they feared they might not kill Andrew in one strike. Afterward, he would surely retaliate with immediate, frenzied vengeance!

He was an individual with intelligence, immense destructive power, and the ability to move at high speed.

That was what gave Congress the greatest headache!

Especially after he had single-handedly destroyed the entire Fifth Fleet.

Everyone came to recognize that inhuman level of power!

Just when they had run out of options, news arrived that Matt had slaughtered everyone at Moffett Military Base and escaped.

The big shots in Congress flew into a rage!

They had thought Matt had died in that massive explosion.

They never expected General William to have hidden him away!

Based on their analysis and investigation of that day's events, it was clear that Matt and Andrew were enemies.

Only a Magnetic Field Master could stand against another Magnetic Field Master!

That was why Torres came here, seeking out Matt, who was lost in confusion.

"So you thought of me? When I tried to stop Andrew, you attacked me without discrimination. I don't blame you for that.

"But afterward, instead of receiving treatment, I was fucking arrested! Thrown into a laboratory and experimented on like a guinea pig!!"

Matt's voice grew louder and louder, eventually turning into a roar!

He had long been mentally prepared for the likelihood that, once his superpower was exposed, he would be captured and turned into a lab rat.

But that did not mean he could calmly accept it when it actually happened to him!

Torres looked ashamed. "I'm very sorry that happened, but please believe me—we will give you a satisfactory explanation!

Right now, you're the only one who can stop Andrew!"

Torres was worthy of being the CIA's director. He was an ace agent himself, and his tone was sincere, carrying a peculiar charisma that made people want to believe him.

Under his reassurance, Matt's emotions finally eased somewhat.

Then Torres played his trump card.

"Matt, you wouldn't want your parents to spend the rest of their lives being cursed at, would you?"

Whoosh!

The surrounding rocks rose slightly into the air, while the sand and gravel on the ground formed one strange vortex after another.

This was the result of Magnetic Field Power, driven by Telekinesis, leaking out.

Matt's voice was icy and filled with killing intent.

"What did you do to them!?"

Torres hurriedly said, "Matt, don't get worked up. We haven't done anything to them. In fact, your father, Mr. Garrety, and I had quite a pleasant talk."

As he spoke, he quickly explained the situation Matt's family had faced after the Seattle incident.

After the events of that day continued to spread, Matt's identity had inevitably been exposed.

Many enraged citizens had gathered in the streets outside Garrety's home to protest.

But there were also rational people who believed Matt was righteous—a hero who had wanted to stop Andrew.

Yet it was undeniable that Matt had indeed caused many deaths and injuries during his battle with Andrew.

Their families would not see it that way.

In their eyes, Matt, who possessed immense power, was no different from Andrew.

They both deserved to die!

They were both murderers!

Garrety moved twice because of this, but he was still recognized each time.

He had even suffered several attacks. Fortunately, CIA agents arrived in time and saved him.

In the end, Torres personally received them, gave them new identities, and arranged for them to be properly settled.