Reign kept trying to recall the moment the Meta Human vanished into thin air.


    He had a good memory, so if he concentrated hard enough, he could rey the whole scene in his mind and remember every detail, even the smallest ones he hadn''t noticed before because he was preupied with something else.


    As the memory resurfaced, he noticed the time on the control panel. The panel disyed different types of data, including temperature, time, and date.


    There was a gap of a minute when he opened his maw and bite into the creature, which was very unnatural considering his bite should only take a split second.


    "So I just stopped moving for a full minute without being aware?" he thought.


    That was the only exnation he coulde up with given the avable information.


    If he had been frozen for a full minute without any awareness, it suggested a level of control or influence far beyond anything he had encountered before.


    This realization was enough to make him felt very threatened.


    No matter how powerful he was, if someone or something could freeze his thought process for that long, it would be game over.


    He prided himself on his speed and reaction time, but this incident showed him that those strengths could be rendered useless in an instant.


    Reign clenched his fists, frustration raising within him.


    "I can''t afford to be caught off guard like that again," he thought. "I need to understand what happened and how to prevent it."


    Little did Reign know that it was the system''s doing that caused all of this confusion .


    But on the bright side, this little incident would prove helpful in the future when he actually encountered someone capable of mental attacks.


    ''I don''t think that thing is here anymore,''he mused, sensing nothing out of the ordinary.


    Before, he had felt a heavy, nagging sensation, as if something powerful and dangerous was lurking nearby.


    The air had been filled with tension, but now that feeling hadpletely vanished.


    This thought provided a small measure of relief.


    ''Still, I can''t afford to becent. Whatever that thing was, it was powerful. It must have had a reason for leaving instead of finishing me off. Maybe it''s more intelligent than I initially thought, or maybe it was just as disoriented as I was.'' He reasoned out.


    After a few minutes, he regained some of his energy and found himself faced with two options.


    He could eitherpletely abandon the goal of getting the virus, forfeiting all the effort he had put in thus far and gaining nothing in return.


    Or, he could summon his courage, and stop being a pussy.


    ''Fuck that Meta Human! ,'' He refused to abandon his goal over something like this.


    Right now, what he needed most was power, and acquiring those viruses would elerate his n.


    The day after tomorrow would be the third day, and if everything went ording to n, Aiku would have alreadypletely possessed Demi, the governor .


    From that moment, he could finally start the next phase of his n, which would him a lot of experience points.


    And if he got lucky, maybe he would finally break the barrier and ascend to the status of a true demon lord.


    The gap between him as he was now and a demon lord was vast, so achieving such a status would provide him with greater assurance for the future.


    In the face of overwhelming power, everything else was insignificant.


    Even his current bad experienced were merely the result of his ownck of strength.


    The solution, was to continue growing stronger until nothing could threaten him—whether through physical attacks, mental maniption, or spiritual assault.


    He made a mental note to address all these weaknesses in the future, determined to be really invincible.


    But for now, he pushed aside all doubts and unnecessary thoughts lingering in the back of his head, so he could focused on his goal.


    ***


    After entering the ventwork leading to the virus storage area, Reign noticed the temperature had dropped a lot. It was freezing, in fact.


    This was because some viruses needed to be kept in cold conditions to preserve them.


    As he crawled deeper, the freezing temperature became almost unbearable for humans, but it was nothing to Reign.


    Even in subzero temperatures, he could still move with ease as long as he had energy to spare.


    ''They''re still here?'' Reign thought, seeing that Doctor Harvey and Jonathan were still there, checking some kind substance through the microscope .


    Both of them wore white hazmat suits, emphasizing the danger of this ce. Any mistake could cause an outbreak.


    The viruses were contained in a specialized room designed for maximum security and preservation. The walls were lined with reinforced steel, and the area was bathed in a sterile, icy blue light.


    In the center stood arge, airtight ss case capable of holding up to 10 humans at the same time.


    Inside, rows of vials were meticulously organized on illuminated shelves, each one filled with dangerous viruses, bacteria , and other dangerous substances.


    Temperature was kept at a freezing level, monitored by advanced digital thermostats to ensure the viruses remained stable.


    The hum of the refrigeration units was the only sound in the otherwise silent, sterile environment.


    Seeing the two doctors examining a particr vial, Reign''s curiosity was piqued.


    The liquid inside was also ck, but it was different from the one injected into the prisoners. This one looked less dark and, judging by its movement inside, it was thick and slimy.


    As Reign eavesdropped, he overheard them discussing the virus that was supposed to be stolen.


    "I''ll just wait for them to finish," he thought to himself.


    Revealing himself now would render all his hard work useless.


    However—


    After finishing their rounds and noting their findings, Harvey and Jonathan instead of putting back the virus on the storage ced the ck vial in a briefcase and left the room.


    This made Reign ponder on what to do next, but ultimately, he decided to let it go.


    The unexpected turn of events left him briefly unsettled, but he quickly refocused his attention on the primary objective: getting the viruses from storage.


    Overall, the mission was merely a bonus. Even if he didn''tplete it, the benefits were far higher with getting the viruses.


    Just like before, he timed the CCTV, quickly calcting the window of opportunity.


    CLICK!


    He got out from the vent, moving with a speed that was neither too fast or too slow.


    Next.


    Without hesitation, he began cing the bug on the camera, to give him enough time to get the vials.


    Once the bug was in ce, he retreated back and nodded in satisfaction.


    He walk close to the storage area.


    In front of him was big ss box, housing rows upon rows of vials.


    Within, there were possibly hundreds of different types, each containing a concentrated form of virus meticulously preserved for study or other purposes.


    There was a ss door, equipped with a panel for inputting a password.


    Luckily, Reign had memorized the code used by Harvey when hest essed the room.


    DING!


    With a quick press of the same button sequence, the door unlocked, granting him ess to the storage case.


    Reign felt excitement surge through him as he watched all the vials. He knew for sure that his Viral sh would be stronger once he acquired them.


    "But first…," his voice trailed off and a new window opened.