Three days later, at Germinal headquarters, Ringo observed the group of Mobs he had gathered. All the executives from the base were there, now completely transformed into extremely respectful versions of themselves.
Ringo, who had modified the leader's body to resemble his own, laughed as he observed the dozens of cadres, some with strength, others with management and research, but all of them had been deeply brainwashed and mind-controlled.
Not only them, but 90% of the base was already in his hands, the brainwashing area never stopped these days.
The sad thing was that some researchers efficiency had decreased, but it didn't matter, he never kept these guys out of loyalty, but as a form of revenge.
Hila was in the front with Hei Yun beside her. She was feeling great these days. Aurora was already free and Hila was clinging to her all day when she wasn't busy managing the brainwashing.
Ringo's clone was also busy using the Nightmare Blade, Devour Dreams and Mind Control.
So he hadn't had time to check on the little girl yet.
Now that he had more manpower, in the coming months he would be even busier controlling all the Germinal scattered around the world.
Base allocation had already begun and even Andrea's bases were already changing locations.
When would he call Han Xiao and tell him he was now a boss and shouldn't interfere? Hehe... sorry, can Han Xiao trust Ringo with a bunch of nukes and control over a gigantic organization like Germinal?
Even if he did, he wouldn't let his guard down and would want to keep an eye on him, not to mention his mission to destroy Germinal.
Ringo doesn't even plan to employ the players, at most, they'd be external assets. The players are basically all eyes on Han Xiao. Keeping a player around could reveal not only his location, but also his plans and objectives.
Han Xiao would use this to his advantage, even if he had to go over his head, in the end, the NPC would just think something like. -"Too bad, he got there first."
Sorry, he was already on guard and prepared for this. Just as he thought months ago when he fled Germinal, Han Xiao can be as close as a friend, yet as distant as a stranger.
Sometimes they can even be enemies when it comes to interests.
Like now, Han Xiao wants to destroy Germinal because it's better for him, but Ringo wants to keep Germinal for revenge and cheap labor.
Of course, Germinal is now Hell, but until Ringo announces it, Han Xiao's system won't inform him.
So as long as the people of Germinal still think they're Germinal, Germinal will still exist. Only when he completes the entire annexation process will he truly change the name.
Ringo remembered that there was a Germinal C Grade Pugilist trapped in the Bell of Death Island, the self-proclaimed right-hand man of the leader, Shijake, in fact he is a muscle head, the type that the leader likes to use, so in a way, he is not wrong, Ringo saved him together and soon he would send him back home, hehe.
Ringo looked at the group of subordinates with growing indifference, then sighed and let them all return. He, on the other hand, returned to tormenting the leader in his mind, no longer needing to worry about thirst, Ringo had arrived after all.
--x--
Outside the base, Ringo calmly entered, closely followed by Eva, Lena, the pair of cubs and Li, wearing a black martial arts outfit, being pushed by Shijake, who had an indifferent look on his face.
Emma, wearing a lab coat and still bald, followed shortly after.
Ringo didn't look at her, but she was no longer chained.
She was appointed to Hell's newly formed pharmaceutical research group, but judging by the fact that her subordinates had practically undergone a recent lobotomy, she would have her work cut out for her.
In truth, Ringo wished he had thrown her away and never looked back. He couldn't bring himself to take revenge, so he simply wanted to avoid her, out of sight, out of mind.
But apparently it didn't work that way. As soon as he had that thought, he felt a soul-crushing pain.
He wanted to curse.
And he did.
But that didn't change the fact that keeping Emma close and safe was the only way to stay calm, so she came along.
The pair barely spoke, but they often spent hours staring at each other, much to Li's amusement and Eva's displeasure.
Ringo didn't know what she was thinking, but looking at her calmed him in a way he hadn't known he needed.
It seemed that ever since he'd arrived in this world, there had always been a voice in his head that kept hammering away at him. Only now did he realize there truly was a voice.
The closer he got to Emma, the quieter the buzzing became. Not that his thoughts were distracted from her, but as if a child sitting in the backseat of the car kept screaming "I want Emma" over and over, then finally finding her and falling silent.
This frustrated him as much as it relieved him, after all, ending the annoying buzzing that had lasted months was truly something to celebrate.
In the end, Ringo was opening his mind. The one Emma screwed over was the original Ringo, he was just a soul that ended up in this body. What does that have to do with him?
Perhaps by spending so much time with Eva and Emma, as well as having Melissa, he began to truly see himself as Ringo. But if the same thing happened to someone random, he wouldn't care.
So, he adjusted his mindset. Emma is taboo to the original, so just maintain the current relationship, he doesn't need to see her as an enemy or a friend.
Sure, that would be ideal, but the damn sub-personality in his head kept sending him emotions of love and desire all the time! If he weren't a nightmare now, even his dreams might be disturbing.
Whenever he looks at her, he can't help but stop and stare. That bald head is even harder to ignore than Hila!
As long as he stays away from Hila, his impulses decrease, but the further he is from Emma, the more they increase.
He wanted to scream in frustration.
But he held it in, at least he tried.
Even now, he was struggling not to turn around and stare at her. He really hated having found her, it only made his problems worse!
The buzzing went from a constant scream, as if the child was pretending to be well-behaved, speaking in a soft tone, but still pestering him.
Lena and Eva didn't know what was wrong with him, but they could see his constant frustration. He no longer spoke, no longer laughed and he ignored everything around him most of the time, as if holding himself back.
It was as he entered that Emma was taken to her own area by a subordinate. There, he noticed the buzzing sound return, albeit faintly. Not only that, but the urge to go after her grew stronger.
He had already marked her. He hadn't used the mark on Hila, but on Emma. The mark that should have belonged to Hila was delegated directly to her. He had no idea he would find her so soon or even if he would.
Taking a deep breath, he walked to the area where Hila and Aurora lived, leaving Eva and Lena to follow a group of mobs to get their bearings.
He had already spoken to Li and roughly understood the man. He would settle matters with him later. Right now, he needed something else.
Lena and Eva weren't enough, it had to be Hila, just a obsession could alleviate the other.