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Dan sat in front of his computer, trying to backtrack the Trojan virus using leftover data traces, hoping to find something more.
After a while, he sighed, pulled his hands away from the keyboard.
"How'd it go? No luck?"
Erik asked, seeing Dan's defeated expression.
Dan nodded.
"The guy on the other end's good. Their counter-tracking abilities are strong—I lost the trail halfway through."
Erik looked a little disappointed, but then Dan pulled out a USB stick.
"I couldn't find their location, but while we were battling it out, I did manage to grab a bunch of useful data."
He plugged the USB into the 3D projector, and a bunch of coordinates popped up.
"What are these?"
"I analyzed the hidden signal frequencies embedded in the Trojan, then cross-referenced them with all signal data from the same time window. That gave me a bunch of matches. I also used Stark's vampire-detection engine to narrow them down. These are the most likely targets."
"I see. I'll go check these locations out."
Erik was about to head out when Dan stopped him.
"Nope. Not yet."
"Why not?"
Erik was confused. Wasn't that the whole point of showing the coordinates?
"Because rushing in now would be dumb. We just raided one of their labs—chances are they're on high alert. There's probably way more Fangires in the next base.
Besides, Mr. Belt is still upgrading Drive. If you go alone, you're walking right into a trap. It's a suicide mission."
"Then what's your plan?"
Without even realizing it, Erik had already started relying on Dan's decisions—despite not wanting him involved in dangerous stuff.
Dan thought for a moment.
"We lay low for now. Ixa just got upgraded, and I still need to collect more combat data to fine-tune it for you. I want you at peak performance. Meanwhile, we wait for Drive's upgrade to finish."
Erik paused, then nodded. He had to admit—after the chaos they just went through, they could use the break.
"Alright. I'll head back for now. Let me know as soon as Drive's done upgrading."
He gave one last glance at the lab where Kurim was still hard at work, then turned and left.
When Dan stepped out of the underground base, there was no warm sunlight to greet him. The sky was overcast, thick with clouds. A cold wind howled past his ears, and the air was heavy with dampness.
The rain started all of a sudden.
Raindrops tapped against the car windows, making a soft, soothing sound. For some reason, it was oddly pleasant to listen to.
A red DeLorean was slowly cruising down the street. The roads were nearly empty, with only the occasional car zooming past. Everything felt unusually quiet and peaceful.
Dan sat in the car, listening to the sound of the rain and watching the windshield wipers sweep the droplets away again and again. This kind of calm, laid-back life—this was what he really longed for. Thinking back, how long had it been since he just sat there quietly, listening to the rain? It felt like ever since he shouted that one word and transformed, peace had been drifting further and further away from him.
Still, he never regretted it.
"Hm?"
Just after passing an intersection, Dan slowly brought the car to a stop and backed up. In a shadowy alley nearby, someone was collapsed on the ground, lying in the rain, letting the downpour wash over him.
"A homeless guy?"
Dan was just about to call the homeless assistance center, but after remembering how slow and inefficient things were in the U.S., he hesitated. Eventually, his heart softened.
Inside the garage, he dragged over a temporary fold-out bed. Looking at the soaked man lying there, Dan shook his head in exasperation.
"At this rate, I might as well hang up a sign and turn this place into an emergency shelter."
Cough, cough~!
Suddenly, the man on the bed started coughing violently.
"You're awake? You okay?"
Dan stepped forward to check on him, but in a flash, the man sat up and reached out to grab Mu En with a takedown move. Unfortunately for him, Dan had been training with Erik for quite a while—he wasn't some pushover. Mu En sidestepped easily, and at the same time, the garage's defense system kicked in. A bunch of weapons immediately locked onto the intruder.
"Heh. This is how you treat the guy who saved your life? Maybe I should've just left you out there in the rain."
Dan's tone was icy.
He might be kind, but that didn't mean he was a pushover. If this guy made one wrong move, the defense system would turn him into Swiss cheese in seconds.
The man took a few deep breaths and, now that he got a good look at Dan, realized it was just a teenager—probably no more than fifteen or sixteen. He visibly relaxed.
"Sorry… I thought you were some punk trying to steal my wallet. I didn't mean to."
His voice was hoarse, but his apology sounded sincere.
Dan just shook his head, not saying anything.
"With the state you're in, forget punks—even beggars wouldn't look twice at you."
It was true. The guy's clothes were absolutely shredded. But judging by the material, they might've once been really high-quality. Who knew what kind of crap he'd been through to end up like this?
The man moved his arms a little and realized his wounds had already been cleaned and bandaged—with impressive skill, too.
"You were the one who patched me up?"
Dan nodded.
"Knife wounds… and gunshot wounds too. Yeah, you don't seem like some ordinary dude."
The man froze for a second, then quickly shook his head.
"Nah, just some loser being chased down by loan sharks."
As he spoke, he struggled to sit up and grabbed his tattered coat, slipping it back on.
"Thanks. I owe you one. But I can't stay here—I'll only bring trouble."
He turned to leave.
Dan sighed as he watched the man's back.
"Wait—take this jacket. I can't wear it anyway."
Dan casually tossed over a coat his teacher had left behind.
The man looked down at it, hesitated for a moment, but then took off his ragged coat and swapped it for the new one. He didn't throw the old one away, though. Instead, he folded it up neatly and kept it.
"Thanks. Once I make some money, I'll pay you back."
As he walked toward the garage door, he paused at the entrance, turned to glance at Dan, and spoke after a short hesitation.
"My name's Frank. See you around, friend."
Then he left.
"...What a weirdo."
Dan scratched his head. Why did stuff like this keep happening to him? First there was Erik, and now this guy Frank. How come main characters in comics and novels always end up rescuing cute girls… and he just keeps picking up random old dudes??
"....."