Blood Nemesis-Chapter 176: Tox and Dharma

Golden Fiend was the name given to Oliver by the people of Dragon City when he saved them from the gate break.

It was a name describing his radiant and destructive nature on the battlefield.

It was similar to the name he had in his previous life.

’Golden Fiend, Blood Fiend. Almost the same, but different.’ Oliver paced around inside Root’s room and thought.

Little Koi floated right next to him, mirroring his movement. It seemed to be enjoying its carefree life.

After they had eaten the ice cream, Oliver and Root came to the Root to talk.

Now, Oliver was pacing around, randomly, without purpose.

So, Root sat on his bed and asked.

"Boss, what are you thinking?"

Oliver stopped and turned around to meet Root’s gaze.

"I am thinking about the future and organising information that might come in handy," Oliver replied.

"Such as..."

"What should we do in the future? How to make more money? How to exploit Hero Academy to get what I want and such..."

"Hm...Boss, do you need my help?"

"Yes." Oliver immediately nodded. "Did you find the people I asked you to find?" He asked.

"With the information you gave me, I am not sure if I will be able to find the person called Kai. But I have a rough idea where Dharma and Laura are. As you said, I prioritised finding them. The rest are being investigated." Root paused.

Oliver had asked Root to look up information on Dharma and Laura.

Dharma was the older villainous monk in Oliver’s team.

Tox’s real name was Laura.

Oliver, Root, Dharma, Kai, and Tox, together, made up their villain squad that terrorised the world.

Individually, none of them in the squad was strong enough to terrorise the entire world. But by working together, they had achieved the impossible and slayed their enemies.

Oliver remembered the past when their names were mentioned. His eyes flickered with a brilliant light as he thought about rebuilding the team.

"Hm...continue." He said to Root.

"Where should I begin?"

"Start with Dharma."

"Dharma’s last known location was in the northern Buddhist City, Sambhala. They don’t have great internet over there. It would be difficult to track him in real-time. But I have the information about the monastery he was staying in."

"That’s good. That’s great." Oliver nodded.

Sambhala was a free city within the Federation’s domain. It was located in a mysterious valley near the Himadri mountain ranges.

After the gates appeared, the mana density on Earth increased. This, in turn, caused the once icy and barren land near the mountain range to change.

Nowadays, the mountain range boasts a thriving wildlife population and lush greenery. The temperature of the entire region also changed, from being freezing cold to moderately cold.

Sambhala, as a city, existed before the change. But it was not known to the outside world.

However, after the change, the city became the region’s hope.

When the gates appeared and monsters ran rampant, trampling the lives of people who lived nearby, Sambhala and the warrior monks became the core defensive force that saved them all.

Now, a thriving population of dozens of millions stay in the city, under the protection of the monks.

It was a free city, inside what could be considered the Federation’s domain. As a free city, it was a self-governed area that the Federation couldn’t interfere with.

As such, internet connectivity, transportation, and technological innovations are late in being implemented in the city.

Root, being unable to find the exact location of Dharma, was understandable.

If it were in Dragon City, he would have a hundred different ways to track a person.

"We will need to set up a WorldNet branch on Sambhala. You should ask your father to prepare for that." Oliver said.

"Can I ask why?"

"Something bad will happen if I leave them alone."

"Meaning?"

"As you said, they were weak in the technological frontier. The Federation can’t take any action within the city. Thus, they would be late in implementing the new demon testing methods." Oliver took a deep breath. "So, the chances of demons taking over the city are high."

"But they are monks. The demon can’t sway them with money, power or woman."

Hearing that, Oliver almost burst out laughing. His lips curled up as he looked at Root.

"Naive." He commented. "Before they were monks, they were humans. As usual, there would be a few rotten eggs among the monks, too."

From what Oliver knew, many monasteries and branches of Buddhism that coexisted in Sambhala would be destroyed by the extremists that the demons supported.

Many people will die, and Dharma will lose his brothers.

This will ignite the flames of fury within the peaceful monk’s heart, thrusting him into a cycle of revenge and making him one of the most notorious villains in the world.

Oliver was not going to allow history to repeat itself.

Even if it meant not being able to recruit Dharma into his team, he would save Sambhala.

"And...make the internet free in Sambhala," Oliver added.

"Hm? You want to make it free. Why?"

"For implementing a surveillance system," Oliver said and grabbed the little Koi flying over his nose.

The fish wiggled within his plan, trying to escape.

Oliver moved it away from his face and placed it on the table nearby.

"Stay there, brat. We are talking about something important." He said and looked at Root.

"What do you think?" He asked.

"I am okay with it."

"So, let’s continue. What information do you have on Laura?"

"Before that, could you explain why this monk is special? Why should I track him?"

"He is a friend of a friend. The same is true for Kai and Laura. That’s the best explanation I can give for now."

"Hm..." Root nodded.

While the explanation was halfassed, Root could sense the sincerity in his voice. So, he didn’t probe into it anymore.

"Hm...Laura is a citizen of the Continental Republic. She is currently doing her master’s while working part-time for a subsidiary company of Trinity Tech. She is not well-known or exceptional in her work. Just your average chemist." Root explained.

"Average chemist! There isn’t anything special about her?"

"Nothing."

’Ah! I remember. Tox didn’t like to use her ability. So, she was not famous yet.’

Tox’s ability was the assimilation and reproduction of any toxin she came in direct contact with.

She was also immune to toxins and was smart enough to synthesise without her ability.

In a word, she could be called deadly.

In the initial years of awakening her ability, she struggled to control it. Thus, causing significant problems to all those around her.

This caused her to grow up isolated, without any friends.

In fact, other than being isolated, she was also bullied while growing up for being weird.

The bullying persists into her later life, continuing while she works for Trinity Tech.

For example, they used to devalue her work contributions, steal her inventions, and even mock her ideas.

It was a difficult couple of years.

But she struggled through it all, without hating anyone.

She was truly a kind young woman.

But that all changed when the evil people around her tried to make her sleep with their boss after drugging her.

Unfortunately for them, they drugged the wrong person.

Toxins and most poisons don’t work on her.

Tox realised their plan and tried to escape.

They tried to catch her, not stopping at using physical force.

At the end of her desperate struggle, she realised she wouldn’t be able to escape and used the last card she had; her ability.

However, the toxins affected her captors differently. Some of them died while the others fell unconscious.

That was the moment everything changed for her.

To protect her family and escape the retaliation of those who had harmed her, she went into hiding.

The evil people around her named her a villain and used the law to hunt her down.

Like that, she disappeared from the public eye.

Years later, Oliver met her and helped her out of her situation.

By that time, she was proficient in using her ability and concocting poisons that could kill even S-rankers.

She was a great addition to his team, which didn’t have any lethal methods that could be used to take out their enemies.

’Tox was the last to join our team. If nothing goes wrong, the tragedy in her life will take place years from now. She is supposed to be safe until then.’

Oliver frowned.

’But I can’t let fate dictate that for me. I need to bring her here, to the Federation.’

Oliver thought.

Once he asked for enough money, it was indeed possible.

His wish was not to let any of his friends or family suffer again. To achieve that, he was willing to go as far as necessary.

"Other than being pretty, she did not look special." Root added from the side.

"You should look into her more. You will realise it then. Compile the new information about them and send it to me periodically. It’s time to face my parents. I should at least let them know I am alive, right?"

Oliver turned to leave the room.

"Take care of the little Koi." He said and promptly walked out.