Crisis

Disappointed, David ate five servings of Fortified Meat, but he still couldn't complete the Eighteen Forms of Body Technique that day. Although his brain had mastered the Eighteen Forms at the 99% beginner level, whenever he practiced, one of the forms would cause his body to react incorrectly midway through, making the whole set fail.

Practicing the Eighteen Forms was a complete process. If even one movement was performed incorrectly, the practice would have no effect.

So even though David's Body Technique had reached the 99% beginner level, he couldn't improve his attributes in a short time, much less use the Eighteen Forms to better absorb the Level 2 Fortified Serum.

The next morning, David got up early and headed straight to the Underground Gym without even eating breakfast. He practiced the Eighteen Forms over and over.

The night before, he had practiced the Eighteen Forms up to the sixth form. Today, he wanted to see how well he could do.

From the first form all the way through the sixth, his body and brain worked together perfectly without a single mistake.

But when he began the seventh form, his muscles weren't used to the movement, and he fell a beat behind. Once again, the practice failed.

Still, this gave David hope. As he ate Fortified Meat to recover his strength, he thought about what had gone wrong. If he could pinpoint the reason for each failure and practice more, his body would eventually coordinate perfectly with the theory in his brain.

Give him a few days, and he was confident he could truly master the 99% beginner level of Body Technique.

Absorbing the Body Technique Knowledge Light Orb had also taught him that knowledge related to the body wasn't like ordinary knowledge: he couldn't simply absorb and integrate it to put it to use.

While he was recovering his strength, a video call came through on his Identity Bracelet. With a thought, the Shadow Servant before him vanished into thin air.

"Father!" David answered the video call and greeted Hans.

"David, take care of yourself!" Hans said with concern when he saw David drenched in sweat.

"I will!" David replied with a smile, touched by his father's affection.

"David, there's a government New Year's Eve gala on the thirty-first. I hope you'll come too!" Hans explained why he'd called, his voice full of anticipation.

He and David had never gotten along, and now that their relationship had finally begun to improve, Hans couldn't wait to introduce him to some of his connections.

David was nearly an adult. In most political families, children his age had long since started attending these events.

The government gala was also Peilan City's biggest annual gathering. The city mayor and high-ranking officials from every department would be there, and it was the best place for the younger generation to make connections.

What mattered even more to Hans, who had always been concerned about his son's love life, was that Peilan City's eligible young women would also attend. That was even more important to him than introducing David to political connections.

"Father, I'll be there," David said after a moment's thought. He didn't refuse; he doubted there'd be any danger at an event like that.

"Wonderful! I'll pick you up then. Remember to wear a suit!" Hans reminded him with a smile, clearly delighted.

Smiling, David ended the call. The affection he'd found in this unfamiliar world had given him a little warmth, and through their growing contact, he had gradually come to fully embrace the identity of David Kerr.

"From today on, I'm David Kerr!"

After saying this, David felt he had completely become part of this world.

In high spirits, he soon returned to practicing the Eighteen Forms. Perhaps it was because he was in a good mood, but he performed the seventh form flawlessly.

Just as he was about to practice the eighth form, the lights on the ceiling of the Underground Gym suddenly flickered.

"Emma, what's going on?" he asked the Smart Butler through his Identity Bracelet.

But Emma didn't respond. That was practically impossible.

When David used the Underground Gym, Emma normally didn't disturb him. And because his predecessor had wanted to leave no evidence of the sacrifice, there were no surveillance devices here. The only way to contact Emma was through the Identity Bracelet.

But even so, Emma should never have been unresponsive.

A chilling feeling rose in David's heart. The earlier tailing, his predecessor's suspicious death, and now the Smart Butler suddenly going offline—all of it pointed to trouble.

He immediately tried to contact Officer Bob through his Identity Bracelet. He didn't contact his father, Hans, because he didn't want Hans to be put in danger. Hans had always been in poor health.

"Unable to connect to Skynet. Please check whether you are within Skynet coverage!" The Identity Bracelet's prompt rang out, confirming to David that something had gone wrong.

"Edna, have you breached the Security System?" Froman, the head of the group, asked the female mercenary beside him, who was operating an electronic intrusion device.

This time, the Sirius Mercenary Group had been led by Froman. He'd brought four experienced mercenaries with clean records to Panshi Planet, and from there they'd made their way to Peilan City.

The assets involved were worth more than three million Credit Points, so Froman was willing to make the trip himself. More importantly, the mission posed no danger at all.

After they arrived in Peilan City, events had gone so smoothly that even Froman was surprised.

The deceased Abbott's T3 Sniper Auxiliary Device had its highly covert signal-location function enabled. Abbott had valued the device greatly and had set it up that way so he could find it if it was ever lost.

Every hour, the T3 Sniper Auxiliary Device sent out a brief location signal. Froman had used that signal to find its current location.

He had identified the location during the day, but waited until nightfall to make his move.

"Captain, this building's Security System is a little better than those in ordinary homes, but whoever installed it was clearly an amateur. My intrusion device can breach the security systems on civilian spacecraft. This will be a piece of cake!" Edna replied without looking up, her slender fingers flying over the controls.

"The signal jammer can only stay on for ten minutes at most. Otherwise, Peilan City's Security System might detect it. Hurry up!" Froman urged Edna, glancing at the signal jammer working beside them.

If a robbery in space went wrong, there was still a chance to escape. But if they were discovered in the city, things would get troublesome.

Of course, all five of them knew that no matter how secure this home was, it would be child's play for them.

They hadn't even brought their Exoskeleton Armor, only a few weapons for self-defense.

There were two reasons for leaving their Exoskeleton Armor behind. They had no need for it on such a small job, and moving around the city in it would cause every surveillance system to lock onto them immediately.

In that situation, they wouldn't be dealing with a single home, but with all of Peilan City.

"Done!" Edna gave the controls one last light tap, then turned with a smug grin.

"Crock, take Ed and Fisher inside. Edna and I will cover you from outside. Move fast!" Froman turned and gave his orders.

"Yes!" the mercenaries replied.

Crock gripped the Light Level 1 Armor-Piercing Axe and led the two mercenaries toward the front door.

The home's entire Security System was now shut down, and even the Smart Butler, Emma, had been forcibly disabled. The whole place was completely defenseless.

For ordinary people, breaking into David's home would have been difficult even without a Security System.

But Crock was carrying a Light Level 1 Armor-Piercing Axe, a weapon capable of breaking through the shell of a Level 1 Zerg. Against the home's steel-alloy door, a weapon made of this material would have no trouble at all.

The Light Level 1 Armor-Piercing Axe slipped into the steel-alloy door as silently as a hot knife through butter, cutting straight through the lock mechanism.

Crock then gave the door a gentle push, and the seemingly impenetrable steel-alloy door swung open.

He signaled to Ed to head to the second floor, then split off from Fisher to search the building from the other side. That way, they could search the entire place faster.