Chapter 16: Crisis

Disappointed, David consumed five portions of fortified meat that day and still couldn’t complete a full session of the Eighteen Forms of Physical Technique. Although his mind had grasped ninety-nine percent of the basics, each time he practiced, his body would falter in one movement, causing the practice to fail.

The Eighteen Forms required a seamless, uninterrupted flow; any flaw in a single motion would nullify the effectiveness. So, even if David had reached ninety-nine percent of the entry stage, he couldn’t improve his attributes quickly, let alone absorb the secondary enhancement serum more efficiently through the practice.

The next morning, David rose early, skipping breakfast to head straight to the underground gym, relentlessly training the Eighteen Forms. Last night, he managed to reach the sixth form. This morning, he wanted to see how far he could go.

He started from the first form, progressing smoothly through to the sixth. His body and mind worked in flawless harmony, without a single mistake. Yet, as he attempted the seventh form, his unfamiliarity with the muscle movements caused a slight delay, and the session failed once more.

Still, this gave David hope. As he ate fortified meat to restore his strength, he pondered the reason for his failure. If he could analyze his mistakes and practice more, the theory residing in his mind would finally align perfectly with his body's response.

He was confident that, given a few more days, he could truly master the ninety-nine percent threshold of the Eighteen Forms. Through this absorption of a physical technique knowledge sphere, he realized that such knowledge—so closely tied to the body—could not be simply assimilated and used like ordinary knowledge spheres.

As he recovered his strength, a video call request appeared on his identity wristband. With a thought, the shadow attendant before him vanished into nothingness.

“Father!” David answered the call, greeting his father, Hans.

“David, take care of your health!” Hans, seeing David drenched in sweat, couldn't help but express his concern.

“I will, Father,” David replied, smiling, his heart warmed by the paternal affection.

“David, there’s a government New Year’s banquet on the evening of the thirty-first. I hope you’ll attend,” Hans explained the purpose of his call, his voice full of expectation.

Their relationship had been strained for a long time, and now that it was finally easing, Hans was eager to introduce David to certain connections. David was nearly of age, and in most political families, children his age were already involved in such events.

This government banquet was also the grandest annual gathering in Peran City, attended by the mayor and high-ranking officials from various departments—an ideal opportunity for the younger generation to forge connections.

Moreover, the city’s noble ladies would also be present, which, for Hans—who had always cared about his son’s romantic life—was perhaps even more important than political introductions.

“Father, I’ll be there,” David thought it over and didn’t refuse; such a gathering was unlikely to pose any danger.

“That’s wonderful! I’ll come pick you up, and remember to wear formal attire!” Hans’s mood was clearly jubilant, and he reminded David with a cheerful laugh.

David ended the video call with a smile. The warmth of kinship in this unfamiliar world brought him a measure of comfort, and with each interaction, he felt himself integrating more fully into the identity of David Kerr.

“From today, I am David Kerr!”

Upon uttering these words, David felt he had truly become part of this world.

His spirits lifted, he immersed himself again in practicing the Eighteen Forms, and perhaps buoyed by his good mood, he executed the seventh form perfectly.

As he was about to practice the eighth form, suddenly the lights above the underground gym flickered.

“Emma, what’s going on?” he asked the intelligent steward through his wristband.

But Emma didn’t respond—something that was nearly impossible. While David used the gym, Emma would never disturb him, and his predecessor had ensured no surveillance equipment was present, so the only way to contact Emma was through the wristband.

Still, such a lack of response should not occur.

A chill crept over him; the previous stalking, the suspicious death of his predecessor, and now Emma’s sudden loss of contact—all pointed to imminent trouble.

He immediately tried to contact Officer Bob via his wristband. He didn’t reach out to his father, Hans, to avoid putting him in danger, knowing Hans’s health was poor.

“Unable to connect to the SkyNet. Please check if you are within a SkyNet environment,” the wristband’s prompt sounded, confirming David’s suspicion of an incident.

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“Edna, have you breached the security system?” Captain Froman asked the female mercenary beside him, who was operating an electronic intrusion device.

This time, the Wolfstar Mercenary Corps was led personally by Froman, accompanied by four seasoned, clean-recorded mercenaries to Rock Star, arriving in Peran City.

With assets exceeding three million credit points at stake, Froman was willing to make the trip himself, especially since the mission posed no danger.

Things had gone so smoothly upon arrival that even Froman was surprised.

The deceased Albert’s T3 Sniper Support Device was broadcasting a highly discreet signal for positioning—a precaution taken by Albert, so that if lost, it could be recovered.

This T3 device sent out a brief positioning signal every hour. Froman had tracked its current location through this signal.

He had pinpointed the location during the day, but only began operations at night.

“Captain, even though this building’s security system is stronger than an ordinary residence, the installer was clearly an amateur. My intrusion device can breach civilian ship security; handling this is trivial,” Edna replied, fingers flying across the device without looking up.

“Information shielding can last at most ten minutes, or the city’s security system might detect us. Hurry up!” Froman glanced at the working signal jammer and urged Edna.

A failed space robbery could be escaped, but in the city, discovery would mean real trouble.

Of course, all five knew that no matter how secure this residence was, it was child's play for them.

They hadn’t even brought exoskeleton armor, only some self-defense weapons. Not using armor was partly because the mission didn’t require it, and partly because donning armor in the city would instantly attract all surveillance systems.

In that case, they’d be facing not just a single residence, but the entire city of Peran.

“Done!” Edna tapped her finger one last time, turned with a triumphant smile, and announced.

“Krokk, take Ed and Fisher inside. Edna and I will cover outside. Move quickly!” Froman issued his orders.

“Yes!” the mercenaries replied.

Krokk, wielding a lightweight Grade One Armor-Piercing Axe, led the two mercenaries toward the main entrance.

The security system had been completely disabled, and even the intelligent steward Emma forcibly shut down. The residence was entirely defenseless.

For ordinary people, even with no security system, David’s home would be hard to breach.

But Krokk’s weapon—a lightweight Grade One Armor-Piercing Axe—could easily split the shell of a Grade One insectoid. Against the steel alloy door, it was effortless.

The axe sliced through the steel alloy as a hot knife through butter, silently severing the lock system.

With a gentle push, Krokk opened the once-impenetrable door.

He signaled Ed to search upstairs, while he and Fisher split left and right, maximizing the speed of their sweep through the building.