Kallen lifted his glass with his right hand and took a sip of ice water, then casually picked up the bracelet with his left and toyed with it. It had many cloudy inclusions inside and lacked any luster.
That meant the craftsman who made it had focused only on putting the formation inside and neglected its appearance. Of course, perhaps his skills simply had not been up to the task.
It was valuable. After all, it was not disposable and could be nurtured and repaired for repeated use. It was expensive, but not particularly useful to Kallen.
First, his own reserves were deep enough that he did not care about the little energy needed to set up a simple barrier. Second, although his own formation skills had yet to reach the level of a master, with Mr. Hoffen's Formation Notes and the support of the [Key of the Magic Cube], he could at least be considered excellent.
But this was a gift from Neo, after all. Returning it would be a slap in Neo's face, and Neo would certainly get angry.
So Kallen put the bracelet in a desk drawer, planning to give it away when the occasion arose.
Across the desk, Neo held a lit cigarette between his fingers, exhaling desolation with every breath.
He had worn that expression ever since dinner.
"Tell me, how long has it even been? It was here back then too, wasn't it, when we first met? I disguised myself as a clerk to come take a look at the aftermath of the Qi He Case, then brought you into my squad. At first, you were just an auxiliary member.
"Now you can stand on equal footing with me."
Kallen corrected him. "I'm the First Office Director, and you're the Second Office Director. Strictly