Lukas sat opposite Raymond in the office. Their eyes were locked together for what felt like an eternity.
"Why did you go to that place?" Raymond asked directly.
Lukas shook his head. "I’m sorry," he replied.
"That does not answer my question."
Although the words were calm, Lukas could feel the anger behind them.
"I only wanted to prove myself to you by helping you arrest them."
"Because you lied once and I agreed does not mean I would let you lie your way out of everything," Raymond replied calmly.
The implications of his words were clear. He did not believe what Lukas had said about divine energy earlier. And more importantly, he knew Lukas was not saying the truth now either.
"I was being threatened by Tencent, the other guy you killed first."
Raymond leaned back in his chair, finally heating what he wanted to hear.
"What you are saying now is that Tencent took you to that place?"
Lukas was about to nod, but he paused.
’He seems to have a way of detecting lies.’
"No, I wanted to use the people there to kill Tencent by luring him in," he said after a bit of internal deliberation.
"So, both sides decided to work together?" Raymond asked, stroking his beardless chin.
"No. The second person in the deal was actually Tencent."
The words nearly made Raymond laugh, but he held back.
"Plot twist," he muttered.
Lukas spread his hands in agreement.
Then both sides went silent again.
’He is pretty smart,’ Raymond thought, analyzing what Lukas had done in his mind over and over again.
"Do you know what you made us lose with what you did?"
Lukas shook his head.
"The White Tiger gang is a really notorious gang that the association has been chasing for a long time now." Raymond paused as he said those. "But even after knowing about this operation, we did not attack, do you know why?"
’Why is he constantly throwing riddles?’ Lukas thought, almost speaking it out loud.
"Because we knew Michael was not going to be present. Going there would only alert them that we are on their trail."
Raymond narrowed his eyes, leaning forward to rest his chin on his interlocked palms on the table.
"Do you now understand?"
Lukas nodded slowly.
"What do you think the White Tiger gang would do now that they know?" Raymond asked
"Increase security, act more discreetly, and so on. Generally, they would do all they can to be more hidden."
"And what do you think that would cost us?"
Lukas heard the question, but did not answer instantly. Raymond’s words seemed to have been passed through efficiently.
"I’m sorry," Lukas said with a slight bow.
Raymond shook his head. "You don’t need to be sorry."
The words made Lukas’s brows twitch. ’Was he always this nice?’ he thought. But what came next made him rethink.
"Your terms of service have been changed. First, will work till you are able to capture the White Tiger gang leader."
"Wait, wait ..."
Lukas stopped Raymond from speaking further. "Are you serious?"
"Can’t you see the smile on my face?" Raymond asked sarcastically.
"But how do you expect me to serve for that long?" Lukas asked, a muffled breath escaping his mouth.
This was a gang that they had been chasing for over thirty years to no avail.
"After that, you start your one-year term."
Lukas’s pupils dilated. "All my life would be spent being a stupid police officer," Lukas said, not bothering to hide his disgust.
Raymond smiled lightly. "It will be fun. Also, any attempt to run away would be treated as treason against humanity. I am sure I don’t need to stress what that means."
Lukas shook his head. ’Yeah, my hatred for you is still the same.’
"Can I go now?" Lukas asked.
"Yeah, sure, I look forward to working with you in three days."
Raymond’s words drew Lukas’s groan. Lukas stood up and exited the place.
For a moment, Raymond’s eyes remained on the elevator’s sliding doors.
"He can do it," he muttered before pulling out a file from under his desk with a smile.
"But you know setting such a trap for him so he would have to go to the warehouse is crazy and underhanded, right?" a voice said from the side.
"There’s nothing like underhanded, Lily," Raymond replied. "He is smart and I need him on my team, I only did what had to be done."
The voice did not say anything again, leaving Raymond to continue checking the files.
Lukas drove out of the Association’s compound. A smile was plastered on his face as he sped through the already busy street.
Although he had been dragged into a stupid contract, he had gained Tencent’s wealth in return.
"I would go there first, then move to my new apartment tomorrow."
’A roommate, huh?’
He dismissed the thought quickly and focused on other things.
"Hey, system, as the owner of the divine Relic, shouldn’t I be able to summon my umbrella at any time?"
[You can.]
The response made Lukas sigh. "I would have asked why you didn’t tell me this, but I am sure you will say something like ’I didn’t ask you.’"
[It is true that the host never asked though.]
Lukas waved the system off. "How do I do that?"
[Just will it, there is no special requirement for it.]
Lukas sighed. ’If the umbrella was with me before, I am sure Raymond would have been unable to discern I was lying.’
[He has a higher rank than you, though,] the system said.
"Since when do you talk so much?"
The system remained mute as if Lukas’s question was a mute button.
Lukas also knew the umbrella wouldn’t have worked, he was only saying that as a means to comfort himself.
The drive to the other side of the city was a long one that took Lukas an hour plus to traverse.
But he was already there, that was all that mattered.
He placed a palm on his face as he activated the mask of deceit.