Jake was about to snag her with his grappling hook and yank her from HQ’s roof when she called out, claiming she was not his enemy. It made him pause. He decided to use Mind Reader on her to determine if she was telling the truth.
He watched several days’ worth of her memories in a matter of seconds, but all he learned was that he was a legitimate member of Los Demonios. Although she hadn’t killed anyone, she assisted the gang in capturing several ordinary survivors. So Jake remained skeptical. She might or might not be telling the truth. He didn’t know for sure. While Mind Reader let him access a target’s memories, it didn’t grant him the ability to read minds.
However, a couple of very useful upgrades that he had learned a while ago—one for Enhanced Intelligence and one for Feral Instincts—allowed him to understand humans better and know what to expect from them. The upgrade for Enhanced Intelligence allowed him to predict nearby humans’ intentions and motivations, while the upgrade for Feral Instincts let him perceive their emotional states.
As he concentrated on these upgrades, he was able to discern that Catalina was being honest. He sensed fear radiating from her, intertwined with excitement and hope. It seemed that while she was afraid of him and wasn’t quite sure what to expect from him, she was also filled with hope and some glimpses of triumph. From the vibes he picked up from her, it certainly felt like she had been waiting for him to show up and wreak havoc at the base.
He wasn’t really sure why this was the case, though. She wasn’t just a legitimate member of Los Demonios. Instead, she was a leader of the entire base. So why did she turn against the gang? Perhaps she really didn’t have a choice in the matter. It was possible she had been forced to join the gang, but despite having earned her place in the gang, she still harbored a grudge against Los Demonios.
Her motives weren’t particularly important to him. It was clear she had no intention of attacking him, even without relying on his abilities. He didn’t need an ally in his war against the gang, but if she was also trying to bring its reign to an end, then they were on the same side, and there was no need to kill her.
He finally nodded and lowered his grappling hook, morphing it back into a human-like hand. Catalina let out a sigh of relief.
“I’ll come down now,” she said. “Please stay right there, okay? I need to tell you something.”
Jake nodded again, curious about what was on her mind. When Catalina disappeared from sight, he took a few steps back from HQ. In his wide field of vision, he noticed some of the workers peeking out from their hiding places, unsure of what was happening.
A few seconds later, Catalina emerged from HQ. She took a couple of steps toward Jake but stopped about two yards away, clearly still fearful of him and hesitant to get too close.
“Thanks for waiting,” she said, then added with a lopsided smile. “And for not attacking me.”
She went silent as if waiting for some kind of response from him. Jake just kept staring. Catalina’s smile faded.
“Look, you’re probably wondering what it all means. Yes, I’m part of the gang, but I’m not actually with them. In fact, I hate the gang with every fiber of my being. Let me explain.”
Before she could continue, though, Jake shook his head. It was clear she hated the gang and wanted it destroyed just as much as he did. That was all he needed to know. He believed she had her own reasons for hating the gang, but he wasn’t interested in hearing them.
He mimicked writing. Catalina understood. She took her PDA out of her pocket and unlocked the device.
“I’ve recently upgraded it,” Catalina said. “So it now has a simple writing app. I’ll open it for you.”
A second later, she stepped closer and handed him her PDA. Jake typed a simple message: No need 2 explain. Know evrthng. He showed her the screen, and Catalina frowned as she read the text.
“You know?” she asked.”How?”
Even though his Enhanced Intelligence was at Rank IV, allowing him to write more easily than before, explaining how his skills worked would still take too much time, effort, and mana. So he chose not to. Besides, there was no need to share all his secrets with humans, even those who were his allies now.
He kept staring at her. Once Catalina realized he wasn’t going to elaborate, she said, “Well, I guess, it doesn’t matter.”
Jake typed another short text. Whaddya want from me?
After reading the text, Catalina replied, “Let me get this straight, you’re waging war against Los Demonios, right?”
“Then our goals align,” Catalina stated. “I want it gone too.”
Jake watched her silently. Catalina fell quiet for a moment. It seemed that while her fear of him was gradually fading, she still wasn’t completely comfortable around him. Jake didn’t blame her. He knew how terrifying he looked.
“Let me ask you, what are you gonna do next?” Catalina finally asked.
Jake typed in another text on her PDA. Will destroy all their bases, 1 by 1. Then tear down the main one. Nothing will be left.
Once he completed the message, Jake felt fatigue settling in. Writing remained a real challenge for him. He decided it was time to conclude the conversation. He displayed the message to Catalina, and after she read it, he gestured for her to take her PDA back.
Once she realized he wanted to end the conversation, she got worried.
“Hold on, hold on,” she urged. “Please don’t destroy this base. Since I’m in charge of it now, I have full control over everything: turrets, cameras, machines, everything. It’s basically a fortress. I want to turn it into a safe haven for survivors, a refuge from monsters and Los Demonios. If we lose this place, they’ll have nowhere to hide from the dangers outside.”
Jake had initially intended to tear down every base belonging to Los Demonios, including this one. However, he agreed that allowing ordinary survivors to use it was a better option. If they failed to protect it against the Demons when they inevitably returned to reclaim it, he would have to come back and destroy it then.
Catalina kept watching him intently, and Jake nodded in response. She released a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.
“Thank you. It really means a lot.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Jake spotted movement to his left. He saw a worker sneak out from behind the machine where he had been hiding and edge toward an assault rifle resting near one of the dead bandits.
Catalina, caught up in her excitement, remained oblivious to it all.
“Look, perhaps we could…” she began, but Jake had already tuned her out.
He dashed toward the worker, who had just seized the assault rifle and trained it on him.