Good news for you all! This novel is already nearly 50 chapters ahead on P_treon, so starting Wednesday, it will be updated with 5 chapters per week, just like on P_treon.
Thank you to everyone who helped P_treon grow, it's for you that I write.
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In the night sky, flying towards Andrea, Melissa was perched atop a giant black eagle.
Even with the strong wind rushing past her, she didn't even squint, her energy protecting her and keeping her steady, the suitcase beside her still clearly secure.
Before they left, they stopped by their old house. Ringo didn't recognize anything, but Melissa kept taking things like some of her clothes and photos. It got to the point where Ringo said he'd send someone to pick it up later or Melissa would want to take the whole house.
Melissa was silent most of the time, looking ahead, never back.
Ringo still felt bad for her.
At least with her there, Lena would have more time to train and Melissa could stay in control of Hell.
Of course, he hadn't told the woman that yet, she was still in a catatonic state. It didn't seem like the right time to say that she had not only switched sides but had practically become the leader of the other side.
Well, Ringo was still the leader, but to be honest, he wasn't very interested in managing anything, as long as whoever managed it was trustworthy, that would be enough for him.
Melissa, being his mother, was trustworthy.
This allowed him to focus on training, he felt he was getting closer and closer to breaking through the level 100 barrier.
With the constant dwindling of things that could affect his genes, he had to turn to Emma's genetic serums.
He even learned the basic and advanced Esper knowledge from Germinal, but it wasn't really very useful to him.
Class knowledge, as he quickly discovered, was geared towards DNA enhancement, at least Esper knowledge was.
Efficiency improvement, energy limiting, energy control, power enhancement...
It was all based on genetic enhancement, very different from the mechanical class where knowledge was power, for Ringo, it was just a bonus.
How could we know that going in that direction might be more efficient, but that was it.
His Esper gene was OP, he knew it.
It might lose in terms of fighting, because in a high-level fight, it can't generate the best attack or the best defense, but in terms of growth, it was progressing fast, so fast that even Han Xiao would have difficulty keeping up with it, even with millions of players pushing it ahead.
With Ringo's speed, they arrived at Andrea's just before dawn.
While it was still dark, Melissa found the brightly lit base with guards everywhere.
This was already the new base, they had moved while Ringo was in the desert.
The place looked like a large city with enormous walls.
As soon as Ringo approached the entrance, all the guards pointed their weapons at them and even the high-caliber automatic machine guns in the watchtowers were pointed at them, but seeing Ringo transform, they all stopped and went back to what they were doing.
There was no panic, no screaming, that's the advantage of having brainwashed soldiers.
As soon as they saw Ringo, they neither flattered him nor feared him, they simply recognized him and continued to serve him faithfully.
Melissa narrowed her eyes, noticing the event.
But she didn't say anything, she heard from Ringo what was happening to that place, seeing it with her own eyes made her feel internally uncomfortable.
She looked at Ringo, who seemed indifferent, then thought about everything he had been through here, in the end, her heart hardened.
There were truly good people among the members of Germinal, after all, it was an organization that welcomed people who had lost their homelands.
Was it an exaggeration? Melissa thought so, but thinking about what Ringo went through, she understood.
As a mother, she quickly put that feeling aside. Furthermore, as a soldier, she learned long ago that in war there are only sides, not right and wrong, so it didn't take her long to adapt.
They could only blame themselves for being involved with Germinal.
Ringo led Melissa inside while calling Lena through the nightmare bond.
Of course, Lena received a notification a long time ago and was already on her way.
As soon as Lena saw Melissa, she seemed very happy and hugged her tightly. Melissa seemed a little stiff, but still hugged the girl, her eyes softening slightly.
-Let my mother take charge of Hell from now on, you can spend more time training. Besides, I didn't bring your father along because I thought it would be better for you to go to him to avoid any problems. Go get him as soon as possible.- Ringo instructed Lena lightly.
Lena paused for a moment and nodded. - Okay.
-If there's anything wrong, let me know. I can show up at your side at any moment with the mark.- Ringo continued.
Lena agreed quickly.
Melissa, on the other hand, widened her eyes. - Wait, what?!
Ringo smiled and teleported directly there.
He didn't want to have another difficult conversation with Melissa, so he left it to Lena.
Lena, used to Ringo's lack of interest in government affairs, rolled her eyes and pulled the still dazed Melissa aside, briefly recounting basic things.
She was taking her to her office so she could hand everything over to her.
Lena was also very happy about this, if it weren't to help Ringo, she would have given up on this task a long time ago. Luckily, Melissa arrived.
Melissa went from shocked to stunned, from stunned to confused and from confused to resigned.
Hours later, Lena drank a large glass of water after talking so much, taught Melissa everything she could, handed over the authority and introduced her to her direct subordinates, then quickly fled.
She had to figure out how to convince her father to come willingly, but her father was more of a worker than a soldier, it would be much easier for him to let go of Hesla than for Melissa.
Melissa, sitting behind the chair in her new office, stood still for a long time.
In the end, she thought she was retiring, but how did she end up behind a chair again?!
Looking at the secretary, who had a stoic and expressionless face, she remembered Liz.
In truth, Melissa had many loyal subordinates, but she didn't want to come between them and the nation.
She came because of Ringo.
So, when she left, she just left a message for them.
Sighing, she began reading reports, she needed to get her bearings on everything Lena had left out.
Hours later there was a knock at the door. She was still reading, stopped for a moment and looked up. The secretary was still standing there, like a statue.
Melissa's lips trembled, she had forgotten about herself.
-Open the door, please.- Melissa asked.
The secretary finally moved, looking a little stiff, probably from standing for several hours.
She opened the door and Eva rushed inside, looking at Melissa with joy.
She woke up a short while ago and learned that Ringo had brought Melissa through Lena. As soon as she heard about it, she rushed to Melissa's office.
-Commander!- Eva shouted excitedly, giving a military salute.
Aside from Ringo, Eva had the best relationship with Melissa and only then did Lena come into the picture.
Melissa adopted and raised Eva, she had long viewed the woman as another mother.
Melissa smiled slightly, looking at Eva with a cheerful expression, it had been a long time since she'd seen her so happy. Melissa could understand, she herself hadn't smiled in a long time since Ringo disappeared.
-Eva, you seem stronger.- Melissa nodded, very happy, but still clearly a bit rigid.
Eva was very happy that Melissa noticed her improvement, now at Grade C, Eva was eager to test her strength against her. -We can train later.
-Okay, but now I still have to understand more things.- Melissa sighed, looking at the stack of reports on the table.
Eva wasn't at all enthusiastic about these things, so after chatting for a bit, she left quickly.
This time Melissa remembered to dismiss the poor secretary, who returned to her own desk outside her office.
Ringo, on the other hand, was lying next to Hila. He caught the woman as soon as he arrived, well, almost. Ringo had to stop by to check on Emma, two weeks without seeing her had made his parasite extremely noisy. So he invaded the woman's dreams again and the pair stared at each other as always.
Soon after, he went to find Hila and they started partying right away. Hila was angry at being woken up at first, but she took it all out on him through rough sex.
Hila got tired enough to fall asleep soon after they stopped.
Ringo, on the other hand, was keeping an eye on the clone's situation.