Kill the Sun

Nick looked at Simon with interest.

"What do you mean?" Nick asked.

"You will see," Simon said with a small chuckle.

Then, Simon walked over to the entrance of the Containment Unit and opened it.

After opening it, Simon could see Aria and the governor waiting for him.

"Sir," the governor and Aria said in greeting.

Simon nodded with a serious expression. "The level two Extractor has delivered valuable intel to Aegis."

The governor and Aria had expected something like that.

After all, Simon and Nick had been inside the Containment Unit for quite a while.

"I'm glad to hear that," the governor said with a nod.

"Aegis has taken an interest in him, and we don't want our people to tragically die in an accident. Am I understood?" Simon said with narrowed eyes.

The faces of the governor and Aria turned white in horror.

"O-of course!" the governor said.

Aria also nodded several times.

"Good," Simon said. "Also, the Extractor has performed a tremendous service for the city and humanity. Aegis will always reward such exemplary people."

"Who has taken the two Specters that have been captured?" Simon asked.

"The city, sir," the governor said.

"What will happen to them?" Simon asked.

"We are not entirely sure, but the one called Riker seems too dangerous to work with," the governor said. "From what we can tell, Riker grows more powerful by causing fear in people. The more people fear him, the stronger he becomes."

"Such a Specter is causing too much damage, and we will most likely grind him down into Zephyx."

Nick remembered when Albert had talked to the Dreamer about exactly that.

If a Specter was very difficult to work with, a Manufacturer could also just grind a big part of their body into Zephyx. After that, the Specter would get a couple of days to recover, and when they were fully healed, they would be ground down again.

The Specter wouldn't be able to grow in power, and the method also didn't give a lot of Zephyx.

Yet, it was better than nothing.

"What about the other one?" Simon asked.

"According to her, she gains power by consuming wealth," the governor said. "She will stay with the city and improve the power of our forces."

Simon nodded.

"If it weren't for the level two Extractor, the city wouldn't have access to these Specters. Confiscating them from him would be equivalent to punishing someone who has helped the city."

"I expect that the wealth Specter is handed to the level two Extractor. Additionally, Aegis wants the Extractor to get another Specter of equal value to the wealth Specter," Simon said.

When the governor had heard the beginning, he had not shown any reaction, but near the end, his eyes widened a bit.

"Sir, don't you mean equal to the other Specter?" the governor asked.

"No, I mean equal to the wealth Specter," Simon said. "The two Specters are already his. If he only received those two, it wouldn't be a reward."

"I understand that you have to keep the other Specter due to its danger. Because of that, I want the city to give the Extractor a Specter of equal value to the wealth Specter. That will be his reward for helping Aegis and humanity."

"I am assuming that Crimson Fungus City wants to help Aegis and humanity, right?" Simon asked with a solemn expression.

The governor took a deep breath.

Whenever Nick had seen the governor, he had seemed so powerful and in control.

But in front of Simon, the governor appeared quite nervous and scared.

'Does he know about Envy's powerful servant?' Nick thought as he looked at the governor.

"Of course, sir," the governor said with a nod. "The Extractor's Manufacturer will be rewarded with a Specter of equal value to the wealth Specter."

"I said that he gets it, not his Manufacturer," Simon said with annoyance. "The capture of the Specter must be solely his achievement."

Naturally, there was a difference between the city handing a Specter to a Manufacturer and an Extractor handing a Specter to a Manufacturer.

If it were the city, the Manufacturer could talk themselves out of properly rewarding the Extractor.

But this time, there was something that Simon didn't know.

The governor and Aria looked at Simon awkwardly.

"Sir," the governor said.

"What?" Simon asked with annoyance.

"The Extractor is the Chief Zephyx Extractor of the Manufacturer," the governor said.

Simon's eyes shot open in surprise.

Then, he looked at Nick.

Nick nodded.

Simon blinked a couple of times in surprise before his gaze turned serious again.

Well, since Nick was the Chief Zephyx Extractor, it didn't make any difference.

He could just reward himself.

'A Chief Zephyx Extractor,' Simon thought in surprise.

Simon wasn't sure if he had ever seen a Chief Zephyx Extractor that was so weak and young.

However, that was actually a good thing.

Since Nick was in charge of the Extractors of his company, his company couldn't be that bad.

He wondered what a Manufacturer led by someone like Nick would be like.

"Fine," Simon said.

Then, Simon turned to Nick.

"You can leave now," he said in a serious voice.

Nick quickly stood up and bowed politely.

"Of course, sir," Nick said before walking past Simon and exiting the Containment Unit.

Nick looked at the governor and Aria.

Aria nodded at Nick with praise, and the governor looked with seriousness at Nick.

"I will contact Dark Dream in the next couple of days regarding the Specters," the governor said.

"Of course. Thank you, governor," Nick said politely.

The governor nodded and gestured for Nick to leave.

"Now, we have to talk about some issues," Nick heard Simon say as he was leaving.

"We have a greater relay but no fitting Specter."

That was the last sentence that Nick heard before he was out of earshot.

Naturally, even though Simon had already given Nick the mission to find the Specter, he still acted like he was expecting the governor to find it.

As Nick left the building, he took a deep breath.

So much had happened today.