Second Special Unit!!
"Yes... Actually, I met your father and grandfather several times in the capital."
"Do you know anything about their disappearance?"
The man looked down at his amputated leg and exhaled heavily after a deep breath.
"I don't know much... But what the First Unit encountered... it was strange. Our unit was responsible for cleaning up the battlefield afterwards, searching for survivors."
"What did you find? They told me all information about the incident is top secret."
"We found nothing... not a single trace of the enemy. All we found were the corpses of our comrades, without even a single enemy body among them."
"What about the location of the battle?"
"Far north… in the uncharted lands… they were 1500 kilometers beyond the Union's northern border."
"That's beyond the Ice Wall!? But aren't those areas untouched by sunlight? How did they survive the weather there, and what was the purpose of the mission!?"
"I honestly don't know… maybe only the Union's top leadership knows. But one thing is certain — there was an unknown enemy, neither human nor beast. Something never seen before… and terrifying enough that the three survivors lost their minds completely. That's why I don't think the Union learned anything from them."
"What about the soldiers' suit cameras?"
"All destroyed."
"That's impossible!"
"The unknown enemy has enough intelligence to outmatch regular beasts… and the fact that we found no trace of it at all — that's what truly terrified us."
Zeus sank into deep thought and decided to put this information aside for now.
"Forgive me for asking, but why are you in financial hardship if you were a former gene fighter? And why didn't you buy a growth serum to regrow your leg?"
The man smiled sadly and gave a short answer:
"It's not easy climbing out of the bottom."
Zeus understood that the man was financially struggling, had lost his genetic power, and perhaps tailoring cheap clothes by hand was the most he could do with one leg and an ordinary body. There might also be other injuries Zeus wasn't aware of.
In fact, the expensive growth serum that Aaron and Zeus used recklessly was a distant dream for many among the general public.
"I'll give you a growth serum… I have a full container at home."
The man chuckled lightly and replied with a firm look:
"You're not the first to offer help… I've turned them all down — family, close friends, and now a stranger I've just met five minutes ago."
Zeus smiled in return and replied in a somber tone:
"It's rare to see someone like you… and I might never meet anyone as stubborn. But what did your daughter and wife do to deserve poverty, if it could be avoided with one honest offer of help?"
"You wouldn't understand… between living poor with nothing given to me and living rich and whole with others' money… I'd never choose anything but the first, even if it meant dying poor."
"What about work? Are you interested in making some clothes?"
"Kid, I'm not making clothes for you just because you want to help me. If you don't actually need the clothes and don't trust me to make them, I won't do it."
"!!… I do need the clothes and I do trust you."
The man pulled out a palm-sized, oval-shaped tech device from under the table and asked Zeus to repeat himself.
"'Is that a lie detector!?'"
Zeus stayed silent. When the man's wife walked in carrying a wooden tray with coffee and saw the device on the table, she was furious.
"Bark!! What are you doing!?"
"I believe in giving you the clothing job."
The device indicated that Zeus was telling the truth. The man was visibly surprised.
"Why? You're a gene fighter with money... any energy-enhanced clothing would be far better than basic wear."
Zeus smiled and explained:
"I'm not interested in energy circuit systems. I just want a stylish suit made from materials that can withstand energy."
"I can't provide that kind of service… Even if I wanted to, I don't have access to those high-grade materials."
"That's not a problem. I'll bring you the materials and pay you for the tailoring."
"Then answer the second question."
"Yes, I need the clothes, and I'm not doing this to help you."
The device confirmed Zeus was telling the truth again. The man smiled happily and turned to his wife:
"It's a good deal."
Then he looked at Zeus and asked:
"So, tell me the work details… how do you want the outfit designed, and what materials will you bring?"
"I want several copies of the same outfit… and the design should resemble the black cloak I'm wearing right now..."
Zeus explained the rest of the details. After half an hour, he apologized and told them he would visit again soon and send the materials and exact design as soon as possible.
When Zeus stepped out and looked at Sally, he thought to himself:
"Maybe I'm not interested in helping that stubborn man… but I am interested in helping you, little one."
He picked her up and gently tossed her into the air before catching her again. Sally laughed each time and waited excitedly for him to do it again.
But Zeus set her down and apologized again before getting on his bike and saying goodbye to the couple and their daughter.
His next destination was the Quantum Tech Research Station — facilities that generally worked on material compression research. They offered a paid service:
Compressing any reasonable physical object within a defined weight and size into a ring or accessory.
Combat suits were considered dual-phase compressed items — a thin base suit under the clothes and the armored layer in phase two.
Zeus wanted to primarily compress his weapon into a ring if possible — and his bike into a bracelet.
It was definitely expensive, but the Raktes family's wealth was not something to be taken lightly.
If not for the family setting specific support limits based on contribution level, Zeus could've bought the best equipment and materials in the world.
But the support granted to a Tier 2 gene fighter from his family was just enough to get him the best weapons his energy could handle, along with some essentials.
And fortunately, the compression services offered by the research stations were within Zeus's budget.