Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat!-Chapter 842: The Scent That Led Underground

Ethan stood there, momentarily thrown. The man had just dismissed the ambient Energy, the cause of the entire crisis, as nothing more than "watered-down trash." He claimed to be from the Extreme South, which could only mean the polar regions, and spoke of a clan called the Moonfrost Direwolves with a pride that sounded less like a Mutant gang and more like a sovereign nation that had existed long before the world fell apart.

’He’s not human. Not fully, at least.’

Questions piled up in Ethan’s mind, stacking one atop another, until his gaze drifted back to the VR Capsule. The accusation the Mutant had made was far too specific to ignore. The Mad Engineer had supposedly stolen their "princess."

"Alright," Ethan said at last, his voice cutting cleanly through the tension. He addressed the engineer through the pod’s external speaker. "What’s this about?"

Inside the capsule, the Mad Engineer blinked, his face settling into an expression of genuine confusion. "About what?"

Ethan almost laughed. The bewilderment was too complete, too unguarded to be fake. His Soul Sense confirmed it easily. There was no spike of deceit, only muddled thoughts and a rising, defensive panic.

"The ’princess’ you supposedly stole from the Moonfrost Direwolf clan," Ethan said dryly.

"Princess? Are you kidding me?" The engineer’s voice crackled with indignant static. "I haven’t seen a woman in here, let alone a princess. There isn’t even a sow in this hole."

He rolled his eyes exaggeratedly, as if insulted by the very idea.

"You lie!" the young man on the floor snarled, a faint growl vibrating in his throat. "I tracked her scent for a week. It ends here. Right in this den."

"I’m not lying," the engineer shot back, his tone rising to match. "I’ve been holed up in this damn bunker for a week."

"Hold on," Ethan interjected, a detail catching his attention. "You’ve been down here a full week?"

"Yeah. About a week ago my pod started giving weird proximity alerts. ’Bio-signature detected.’ I’d pop out, see nothing. Then the howling started. In broad daylight. My neighbors heard it too." His eyes widened suddenly as he stared at the battered young Mutant. "Wait. Was that you? You creepy bastard, you scared me into hiding down here. Hey, wait a second. Who the hell are you anyway?"

At last, his suspicion shifted back to Ethan.

Ethan rubbed his temples slowly. Was this really the same meticulous genius who designed complex devices inside Ethereal? In real life, the man seemed scattered, almost painfully oblivious. Had he honestly believed the pod was an impenetrable fortress?

Sensing Ethan’s stare, the engineer puffed out his chest, forcing bravado into his posture. "Look, I know the world’s gone nuts out there. But this pod is rated for seventy two hours of continuous siege. You can’t touch me. And when my guild leader finds out about this, he’s got three special forces badasses working for him. You should just leave."

A smirk tugged at Ethan’s lips despite himself. "You’ve never even met your ’guild leader,’ have you? The people out there now aren’t normal. Your badasses wouldn’t last a minute." He gestured casually between himself and the wolf-man. "How many do you think we could take?"

The engineer’s confidence collapsed. His eyes flicked between Ethan and the Mutant, clearly recalling the violence he had just witnessed. He swallowed, hard.

"Enough," Ethan said, his voice flattening with mild irritation. "Stop wasting my time, or I’ll revoke your shop manager status in Ethereal. You’ll be back to panhandling for copper. I might even change your ID from ’NoPaperOnTheBigOne’ to something more accurate. ’NeedsABrain’ has a nice ring to it."

The engineer’s jaw dropped. His eyes bulged. "Y-you... you’re..."

"Stop stammering and think," Ethan cut in. "What really happened?"

He believed the engineer’s confusion, but he could also feel the Mutant’s conviction. Neither of them was lying. That meant the truth was buried somewhere in between.

"You’re... Druid God?" the engineer whispered, awe finally piercing through his panic. His legendary, game-breaking guild leader was standing here in the flesh, and had just saved his life.

"Focus," Ethan said. "You heard howling. Before that, was there anything unusual at all?"

He then turned to the young Mutant, who still crouched warily near the floor. "You can get up. And you," he added, pointing at the capsule, "get out here. Both of you. Talk properly."

The Mutant rose cautiously, eyes never leaving Ethan’s now empty hands. The killing intent that had filled the room earlier was gone. After a brief hesitation, the engineer released the hatch and clambered out of the pod, his movements awkward and his expression sheepish.

"Nothing weird, really," the engineer muttered, scratching the back of his head. "Well... except maybe the puppy."

Three pairs of eyes snapped to him at once.

"Puppy?" Ethan repeated.

"Yeah. A little Husky pup. Scruffy thing. Found it shivering by the dumpster out back a few days before the howling started. Felt bad for it, so I brought it in, gave it a bath and some food. It hung around for like three days." He shrugged. "But come on, I’m logged into Ethereal eighteen hours a day. I can’t raise a dog. So I took it to the animal shelter on Fifth. They’ve got a no-kill policy."

He trailed off, looking between Ethan and the Mutant as understanding crept slowly across his face. "You’re not telling me that scrappy little Husky was a... a wolf?"

The young Mutant’s expression twisted, caught between hope and frustration. He shook his head sharply. "The scent leads here. It does not leave. I have come many times. She is here. Or was. Where did you hide her?" He stepped forward, tension coiling in his frame.

The engineer yelped and ducked behind Ethan, who calmly raised a hand to block the Mutant’s advance.

"Check upstairs," Ethan said evenly to the engineer. He had already scanned the bunker thoroughly. There was no hidden canine, young or otherwise. "You should have proof. A receipt."

"Yeah. Yeah, I put her in a carrier. The paperwork should still be in the box upstairs. I’ll get it." The engineer bolted toward the tunnel leading up, desperate to prove his innocence. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The young Mutant watched him go, his aggressive stance slowly sagging into something far more fragile. Anxiety and hope warred in his eyes as he stood there, wanting to believe, needing to believe, that this trail had not led him astray after all.