91 Interrogation

"I'm good." Hayden shrugged at Anthony's question. "I can handle myself. Plus, I've got that emergency thing. I can probably survive an attack from a Level 3 wielder long enough for you to rescue me."

"Sure. Sure." Anthony sighed, not veiling his annoyance at all. He was used of Hayden's disrespect at this point. Besides, Hayden wasn't stepping out of line at all. He still uses the basic polite Filipino words of 'po' and 'opo' with his sentences. "How about you, Daniel?"

"Considering that, most of the time, Hayden's in close proximity… I think I'm going to be fine as well." Daniel humbly rejected Anthony's offer.

"Okay. Be careful." Anthony reminded the duo that they were valuable assets to Puting Araw. "As for you Hayden. You better make the interrogation of that guy you arrested last night quick. He's at the detention unit."

"Okay. I'm going now." Hayden left the office without another word while Daniel bowed to excuse himself politely.

"Bastard." Anthony's face twitched when the two exited. "Someday I'll teach you a lesson on manners, arrogant kid."

…..

Puting Araw Main Branch Secret Facility, White Section, Threat Level One Detention Units. Detention Unit Ward Seven. Alike all the Threat Level One Detention Units, it was a white padded cell with a singular cozy-looking bed and a toilet. The pads were backed by absorption ceramics behind it. The door was made of 13-centimeter thick military-grade Shojin Steel with a small barred vision panel on eye level.

The psycho that held Hayden at gunpoint was lying on the cushioned bed. He donned a plain white prison outfit. A frenzied smile was plastered on his countenance. The psycho was shackled by some sort of black stone handcuffs.

Abruptly, behind the vision panel, a woman's eyes popped up. The bar clanged. "Hey, you, come with me."

The metal door slid sideways with a shrill creak. Mr. Psycho didn't stand up. The woman, wearing a white Puting Araw uniform, walked inside. She roughed Mr. Psycho, pulling him up and pushing him. "Walk. You do know how to walk, right?"

The woman led Mr. Psycho near the entrance of the detention unit, where interrogation rooms were in.

Opening the metal door to the interrogation room, Hayden was within, sitting at a metal table. In front of him was a vacant metal chair. The woman was surprised of the majestic air in the interrogation room. In his hand, Hayden was holding a tablet.

She unconsciously developed a sense of inferiority of Hayden. Keep in mind that she was similarly a Level 2 wielder. She also blushed because Hayden nodded at her. 'He's somehow getting handsomer and handsomer.'

There was something about Hayden that she couldn't quite explain. Hayden woke her from her daze when he spoke. "I'll take it from here."

"Really, Mr. Bigshot?" Mr. Psycho tilted his head, his eyes screaming 'I'm a killer.' "Do I really need-"

Hayden's entire person shifted from that of an overbearing king's into that of an infernal demon's. Hayden's voice became devilish. "I told you, sit."

Mr. Psycho gulped, fear showed in his eyes. His smile was wiped off his face. He heeded Hayden's words, nervously sitting on the vacant chair.

"So… Aaron." Hayden reverted his voice back, though his aura remained that of a demon's. He rose up, smashing the table. "Who. Put. The bounty. On. My head?"

"I-I don't know…" Aaron shrunk in the presence of Hayden. That immense killing intent from Hayden was overwhelming. In front of Hayden, it was as if all of his psychopathic tendencies were child's play. "I-I plainly saw it..."

"Where did you see it?" Hayden stared directly into Aaron's eyes. "Tell me, Aaron."

Aaron shivered coldly. "I-I'm not allowed to tell!"

Hayden took hold of Aaron's collar. He smashed lifted him up in the air and smashed him onto the table. "You're in my turf. If you don't tell me, can you imagine the things I can do to you?"

"Y-you c-can't torture me!" Aaron stammered. "Even before the World Government was established, the Geneva Convention banned torture!"

"What an idiot." Hayden was disgusted of Aaron's excuses. "Here you are, talking about Geneva Convention, yet you go in public and attempt to assassinate me? Additionally, do you really think that I would obey the Geneva Convention and the World Government in 'my' turf? Do you desire to risk it?"

Hayden was informed that Aaron didn't know that he was in Puting Araw. He was apparently transferred here with a burlap sack on his head or something. He figured he'd use it to his advantage to intimidate this guy.

Hayden sensed hesitation on Aaron's part. That was why when he was about to speak, Hayden interrupted him. Hayden coldly smiled, "Let's see… The things I can do, slowly cut your fingers off one by one. Then move on to the toes. Then to the male genitalia. Oh, what about tickling torture?"

Aaron's eyes warped into that of dread. Hayden's tone was not, in any way at all, joking. He was as serious as he could get. What terrified him the most was the mention of that tickling torture.

You'd think this was ridiculous, but imagine being tickled for hours and hours. Would you really want that? Nobody would. It was one of the tortures that can be used in modern day due to its nonviolent nature. In spite of that, it was effective. More than death threats.

"It's from the Dark Haven" Aaron was evidently scared of Hayden. He exposed everything that he had knowledge of.

Dark Haven, as its name suggests, is an illegal congregation of people of the underworld. They are headed by a person that went by the name of 'Maestro of Death.' Basically, it was an organization where people can buy and do illegal stuff without repercussions, get money by fulfilling contracts, or selling your soul to the Maestro of Death. Their currency was Blanks, a type of cryptocurrency exclusively developed for Dark Haven's usage.

Aside from that, as long as you had power, you have a place in Dark Haven. Those with combat power were revered in Dark Haven. Those truly gifted are given the title of 'Resident.' Dark Haven's leader, the so-called Maestro of Death, is also absurdly powerful, able to kill people with a touch.

Second, Hayden got one of the locations of this infamous Dark Haven in Metro Manila. It was in a nightclub named 'Eye of the Tarsier' in Quezon City, a masquerade themed club. It was masquerade themed because all members of Dark Haven were anonymous and that the place itself was relatively easily accessed.

The thing was, this Eye of the Tarsier was merely a branch of Dark Haven. Aaron told Hayden that all he knew was that there were tens of branches scattered all throughout the Philippines. Eye of the Tarsier was just one of those branches, an insignificant one to boot.

Third, Hayden discovered that his bounty was three million credits. Daniel's was two million. He was astounded of how high his bounty was. After all, Christopher was only promised a million credits.

Needless to say, this conversation was recorded. The people who were listening on the other side clamored at the mention of Dark Haven. The existence of Dark Haven was no secret. Howbeit, locations of Dark Haven have always been hard to find. Eye of the Tarsier being one was unprecedented information.

…..

In a briefing room, Hayden, Zeke, Daniel, Scarlet, Sophia, and Courtney was in it. Hayden was perplexed. "Is it necessary that all of you guys are here?"

Pointing to Courtney, Hayden questioned. "You. You're a Trainee, right? Why are you here? You're not allowed in here."

"I-I was given special privilege since I was involved in the situation as much as you guys. They ordered me to be here." Courtney meekly bit her lower lip, both of her hands behind her back. "Furthermore, they said that they've heard of my exploits from that incident in school from you."

"Fine." Hayden shrugged this off. It all made sense anyway. "Here's the thing. I was not given what we don't already have pertaining to everything. This Dark Haven is being hunted by Puting Araw for years. Their leader, Maestro of Death, has ties with Kamay ng Lagim. We are plainly conferred access to such high level information due to the bounty that were put on our heads. Which is three million on my head and two million on Daniel's head."

"What?" The five people were all shocked of how high the bounty was. "Why is it so high?"

"If we take all the facts into account, it's understandable." Zeke oddly turned analytical. Scarlet eyed him with mystification. Zeke ignored her and continued. "First, Hayden had former dealings with Kamay ng Lagim. Let us not forget that he was the first one hunted by Kamay ng Lagim, during of which he took down five valuable rookies of the Limang Daliri in one fell swoop. Second, Hayden was hunted by a Level 3 wielder paid by Kamay ng Lagim in South Korea. He should've been killed. On the contrary, he wasn't, even pulling said Level 3 wielder to his side. All of those are enough for that bounty. In fact, if they knew that Hayden pulled the Level 3 wielder to his side, this would be higher. As for Daniel's, his recent ordeal with Kamay ng Lagim, and the loss of the instrumental Crimson Enchantress indubitably came into play for his bounty."

Hayden approved of Zeke's explanation and summarization of everything within ten seconds. "Thank you for that. Everything he stated was accurate."

"How do you plan on dealing with this? Daniel looked at Hayden, seeking for an answer. His eyes conveyed that he was absolutely clueless and worried at the same time

"We do nothing." Hayden answered with his head shaking. "We can't possibly do anything to remove the bounties on our heads. However, there are two ways we can act in our predicament. Either lie low, or establish that we aren't easy targets so as to minimize the people that comes after us."

"Let me guess. Each both have their pros and cons?" Scarlet inquired.

"As might be expected." Hayden responded with a matter-of-factly voice. "Lying low means staying here in Puting Araw until we're strong enough to defend our own. Our movements will be limited. Going outside should be minimized. The cons of doing this is obvious."

Daniel nodded. Hayden resumed, "Meanwhile, the second option is a double-edged sword. We have successfully defended all assassination attempts so far. Nevertheless, let's remember that those people are either non-wielders or lesser wielders. If we establish that we aren't as easy to kill, eventually, stronger psychopaths will come after us."

"So… Basically, risk or be absolutely safe." Sophia calmly verbalized. "Let me guess, you're going to risk it?"

"With my luck?" Hayden exclaimed. "Still yes. I'm a celebrity. I can't isolate myself. Granted, I hate appearing in public, but it's good money."

"Aren't you worried of being hunted down by a Level 4 wielder?" Zeke questioned Hayden with squinted eyes.

"I am." Hayden admitted. Indifference exuded from him. "But, I have my ways of surviving. I'm confident I will survive a Level 4 attack."

Why? Well, let's view Hayden's thought process. You see, despite having no information pertaining to Level 4 wielders, it is undeniable that a Level 4 wielder has come a long way to achieve their status.

This was backed by the scarcity of Level 4 wielders in Puting Araw itself, an organization considered the epitome of the world of wielders in the Philippines.

Going on from there, Level 4 wielders would grasp just how much power Puting Araw holds. Taking into account the chances of a powerful enough rogue or loner Level 4 wielder to disregard the authority of Puting Araw to sprout somewhere, and those that are careless; the chances of Hayden being attacked by a Level 4 wielder has the same chance of him being directly struck by lightning on a stormy day.

Moreover, these Level 4 wielders will definitely be at least smart enough to be cautious of their surroundings and, in the least, have a bit of fastidiousness for killing him. Therefore, we can safely presume that the sole two situations that they'll strike will be when Hayden is in a deserted unmonitored area and any time during the night.

The first one can be effortlessly avoided. The second one was not avoidable, but for the duration of that timeframe, he's always with Eun-ha. She'd have no problem defeating, or, in the worst case scenaro, fending off a Level 4 till someone from CHORUS comes to their rescue.

'It's dishonorable hiding behind someone.' Hayden self-confessed. 'Notwithstanding, it's the best choice.'

Eun-ha's words resounded in his heart. 'Don't forget that I stand alongside you now…'

At the thought of this, Hayden revealed a genuine smile, stunning the five people. This left them wondering what Hayden was imagining.

Coughing, Hayden reminded, "As for Daniel, he shouldn't worry. Two million credits is a small sum, believe me. A million credits is barely enough to hire a Level 3 wielder to kill me. With the exponential power gap between Level 3 and Level 4 wielders, three million credits would be the bare minimum, and this was for the weaker wielders. Those stronger ones will not bother with us."

"Logical." Zeke bobbed his head up and down. He started being in a trance such that he started sounding kind of creepy. "His calculations are precise. It's phenomenal. I couldn't have done it that fast. How…? How did he do it?"

"Buddy?" Daniel placed his hands on the back of Zeke. "You good?"

"Oh yes, sorry." Zeke blushed. "Let's talk about the upcoming Puting Araw Wielder Standoffs first thing in February, shall we?"

"What is this Wielder Standoffs you're speaking of?" Hayden's left brow raised. "I have not heard anything concerning this."

"Well, it is a surprise for new wielders during the Yearly Meet." Zeke informed Hayden of this Yearly Meet.

Essentially, the Yearly Meet is a regular formal party, except that the attendees are wielders. Socialize, make connections, have fun, meet new people and the upper echelon of the Puting Araw. As aforementioned, a regular formal party.

The main difference with a regular party was the Puting Araw Wielder Standoffs. "You see, the Wielder Standoffs is where the Walong Sinag ng Araw and Eighth Rank Special Agents eye talents among Level 1 and Level 2 wielders. It's a competition format that we're all obligated to participate in."

"Ahh, so that's what the arena is for." Hayden remembered wandering around the secret facility once and stumbling across an enormous underground arena that had high amphitheater-style seats all around. "Wait. Did you say we're all obligated to join?"

"Yes." Zeke nodded. "The Walong Sinag ng Araw and the Eighth Rank Special Agents all want to see our capabilities and progress. In addition, the overall winner will have the opportunity to be the student of the First Seat of Walong Sinag ng Araw, Rose."

"Huh." Unexpectedly, Hayden didn't sound excited at all. "Sounds exhausting and troublesome."

Zeke and Scarlet were dumbfounded by Hayden's words. Regardless, it wasn't weird… Conversely, it felt right. That was unquestionably the Hayden that they met.

"Okay, since this came to be a meeting when it shouldn't be, meeting adjourned." Hayden walked out with saying anything else. In the present, all he had in mind was that matter with the land, Eun-ha, and the two Space Rings he had custom-made. Apparently, the Space Ring was done, with Jasmine (Banal na Tagalikha) messaging him personally through a partial message and communication link request.

He dropped by and acquired the two Space Rings. One had a circumference longer than a regular Space Ring, otherwise, it was similar. This was costlier, at a price of 15 million credits, since it used more Space Stone, having a space of 20 cubic square meters.

As for the second, it was unusual for a Space Ring. Instead of being black, it was silver with a beautiful 24-carat ruby fashioned into a rose embedded on it. It was beautiful, costing 20 million credits for Hayden.

Afterwards, Hayden placed the two rings in his pockets and phoned Eun-ha.

"Hey." Hayden said in Korean. "How is my Gonjunim?"

"You're oddly sweet today." Eun-ha chuckled. "I've heard what happened at your school. You called, so of course you're okay. Are you? Oh goodness, you're not, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I'm good." Hayden snorted with a smile on his face. "How about you guys? You good there in Vigan? Having fun?"

"Yeah, we just finished roaming around and filming vlogs. It's pretty cool here." Eun-ha responded. "Right now, we're eating in a place called Kusina ni Nanay (Mother's Kitchen). They serve classical Filipino food. Let me ask, how come you've never cooked Filipino cuisine for me?"

"Do you want me to?" Hayden sat on his motorcycle in the underground parking lot. "You should've asked for it. I can cook it… It's just, you know, I'm Filipino. I've been eating Filipino cuisine my entire life. It's my same argument of why I don't cook Korean food for you."

"Huh." Eun-ha sounded satisfied with that explanation. "Oh yeah, you haven't. Why did you make me that sushi then?"

"I love Japanese cuisine. Well, most people love Japanese cuisine. Let's face it, my sushi was too heavenly." Hayden bragged a little. His cooking is the individual thing that he'll be forever proud of.

"You got to make us sushi next time around!" A cutesy voice came from the other side of the phone. It was obviously Sayuri. "If you boast about that, then I'm certain that it would be the best sushi I've ever tasted. You've got a lot of debt to us. Cook later again!"

"Oh I'll cook for all of you even without debt." Hayden prompted to entertain Sayuri in spite of her interruption. Again, soft spot. No one can possibly be annoyed by Sayuri's antics. He switched to Japanese. "I consider cooking for all of you a privilege. Especially for you, Miyazato-san."

A long bout of silence ensued. Hayden activated his phone and checked on the call. It was still there. He probed. "Hello? Miyazato-san?"

"What did you do?" Eun-ha said laughing. She seemed to be losing herself from her amusement. "What did you say to make Sayuri-noona blush that much?"

Hayden belly laughed. "I guess her weakness is being teased back, huh?"

"Yeah, it is." On the restaurant full of wooden furnishings all around, Sayuri sat there listlessly adjacent to Eun-ha at a long wooden rectangular table. Their co-members were entertained of Sayuri's intense reddening. "Oh yeah, why did you call, honey?"

"I'll get to the point." Hayden coughed. His tone became somber. "I have a three-million bounty on my head."

"What? Why?" Likewise, Eun-ha turned solemn.

"Well…" Hayden apprised Eun-ha of all his troubles. "That's why I'm being hunted by people. I guess I'd have to be careful, huh?"

"I'm worried." Eun-ha articulated her emotions. "Do you want to stay with us for the meantime? We can protect you."

"Don't worry about me, Gonjunim." Hayden smiled sincerely. Hayden didn't desire to be jinxed, hence, he didn't mention any sort of probability. "Anyhow, you can't possibly be with me all the time. I'll be fine, okay?"

"Yeah, okay." Eun-ha chose to trust Hayden. For some reason, she felt that Hayden wouldn't be taken down as easily even if he was attacked by a Level 4 wielder. "All of your classes are cancelled, right? Want to come here? Spend some time with us? We're finished with our shooting."

"Sure." Hayden readily agreed. He had nothing to do anyways. "I'll be there as soon as I can, Gonjunim."

…..

RWL, Category: Genetics – Prior to the inception of the World Government, the Project Superhuman was created by the United States. Project Superhuman, as its name suggests, is designed to produce superhumans with the world's leading DNA modification technology. However, before it had any sort of success, the current Philippine leader at the time, June Zacharias, being part of the Security Council as a permanent member, has proposed a complete restructure of the United Nations, which became the World Government.

The World Government banned the experiment and any other form of the human genetics. As such, it was shut down. Or was it?