Free Web NovelChapter 497: Peaceful Protest
Despite the initial concern, it didn’t take all that long before Lane was left alone. The nurses only helped him get changed into the hospital gown and washed his wounds, before leaving the room, reassuring Lane that the doctor would see him soon.
Then Lane waited. freeweɓnøvel.com
It was the Association’s hospital, after all. Even on a quiet night, patients had to wait a while to be treated. Especially someone like Lane, a high-ranker who couldn’t be examined by any random intern who happened to be free.
Not that Lane minded all that much. He had his phone with him, so he simply took it out of his spatial bag, and started browsing the news. He wanted to take this opportunity to learn more about that ’incident’ that Damien had mentioned... Blanc was probably waiting for some comments from him, so while it wasn’t super urgent, Lane had to get a grasp of the situation soon.
The moment he opened the browser, he was greeted by a ton of sensational headlines, without even having to search anything.
[Shocking Incident in the Restricted Zone!]
[Dungeon Break or Peaceful Protest?]
[Monsters Flood the Streets of the Capital]
[International Awakened Summit Interrupted]
[Oppression or Necessary Precautions? Experts discuss...]
Well, that was to be expected. The incident happened in the middle of the Capital, during the summit at that. All the mainstream media, big and small, were publishing extensive reports on it. Unlike with the ViTube channel, this news wasn’t so easy for the Association to suppress.
Even the tournament results couldn’t push it to the side, being completely overshadowed instead. Who cared about the Espers showing off and competing among themselves, when there were creatures from the Gate wandering around and causing a commotion?
Lane clicked on the first headline that popped up and started scrolling through the article, his eyes gliding over the words, merely looking for keywords rather than reading properly - he might have been curious about the results of this scheme, but the details were not that important right now. The media were unlikely to have fully accurate and in-depth information anyway, so Lane just wanted to get the gist of it before checking the comments.
What had happened was basically: early in the afternoon, when the tournament had been in progress, and all the attention (and security) had been focused on the Eldenveil, a large group of teddy bear monsters had stormed out of their Gate. They hadn’t attacked anyone or anything. In the first place, they had no weapons on them, and they all had been wearing Guide badges (forced on them by the Association, so that the guards stationed inside would be able to distinguish which monsters were Espers and which Guides), which showed that they had no intention to fight. Instead, they had been carrying large posters with slogans written in English, complaining about being oppressed by the Association. From then on, they had been touring the streets, causing a commotion with the noise (and even more so, with their stench), and bringing attention to their cause.
As for the Association... They hadn’t really done anything. Well, they had sent people to try to send the monsters back to their dungeon, but they had been completely unsuccessful so far. The teddy bears were determined and wouldn’t give in to the threats... fгeewebnovёl.com
Especially not when they knew that they were empty. They had been informed beforehand by one of Blanc’s spies that the agents wouldn’t resort to violence as long as the monsters didn’t make the first move. Of course, it had only been Blanc’s speculation before, as it went against the Association’s protocols - under any other circumstances, all the monsters that crossed the Gate should have been immediately exterminated - but the monsters weren’t aware of that.
And they were not completely powerless either - although they all wore Guide badges, there were actually at least a few Espers with good defensive abilities hidden in their midst. The moment they sensed danger, they were ready to counter the attack and evacuate. Not to mention, they had been promised that the secret organization would come to their rescue if necessary.
From what Lane could see, everything worked out exactly as planned.
...Perhaps even too much as planned. As his eyes slid over the lines of text, absorbing the information, a chill started creeping down his spine. To think that Blanc had been able to anticipate the Association’s response so accurately... It was kind of terrifying. He wouldn’t want to be on the opposite side. While Blanc didn’t exactly pose any real threat to Lane’s life or anything...
He could easily cause him a lot of trouble. Lane would have to be more cautious moving forward. Initially, he wanted to notify Blanc about the Eldenveil’s incident and ask him to find a way to cause trouble for the Allens, but now, he was no longer so sure whether that was a good idea. While he could pretend that he was just one of the guards who had witnessed that night’s events and found them suspicious...
Anything that could lead to Blanc figuring out the connection between his ’Boss’ and the Allens could come back to bite Lane in the ass. Once Blanc had that information, he could use it against Lane. Indirectly, of course, but that was even worse, since Lane wasn’t confident he wouldn’t fall for his schemes.
It was a bit disappointing that he had suffered in the lake for nothing, but at least he strengthened his hypnosis abilities thanks to that. There were still many other things he had to worry about regarding the aftermath, but...
For now, Lane locked his phone and tossed it to the side, closing his eyes as he leaned back on the hospital bed. After the long, eventful night, he was exhausted - perhaps not physically, but mentally - and just wanted to forget about it all. Quickly complete the treatment and go back home, to cuddle to sleep in his comfy bed with his boyfriend...
