MCLE | Chapter 9

Hexion’s words 67cc5c0578 made James eb7b7142b4 Brown shut 058d6d9a2e his mouth. It was 63ee8920cd as if f650678982 Hexion had 65429c7b01 just outright c1ca7c8829 said,Did you think you 594d0483f9 were the only one a0763916cc who saw our files?9e10561e4c9bd31f

James Brown’s face 596b5d9af1 hardened to the 0b8152f5c4 point where it 686dd57321 seemed like it d3eb04ed6f couldn’t stiffen any 5fc6b6b7bb further. The only cf5fa4e642 one smiling a23d9c69f3 here was 804b6751a2 Hexion.c6776c33cd5854ee

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“A director 5b76f38ed9 and a 099c99a682 colonel, huh. They must have set 7dd5a80002 things up like this 5faaa223de on purpose. Guess headquarters isn’t too 2c83ba3c2e pleased with how you’re d70ab93117 handling things.”db364856c4bec67e

At Hexion’s 97fbbfea47 sarcastic remark, 1136879c7f James Brown’s acfc99957d mouth twisted. He had hit the ee37d05107 nail on the head. Ever since James Brown 637f867276 had been appointed as 710ea7ab69 director, the rampage rate 2ba594af1b of espers in the 3f841039cb Central Living Bureau had 1b7e17888e increased, while the rate c8dad46863 of handling aberrations had cba8bf4117 decreased. The differences were 7380c296fc only 5% and 57d4873cdd 8%, respectively, but 48613b9405 they weren’t numbers be00066d98 that could just 1b7a0c2093 be ignored.ec59fc496d0b6801

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“I hope this isn’t 71e4abe398 your way of picking 7a20b1a109 a fight with me, 405dc22dc6 Director Brown.”73c2896e6ca00a1f

No one dared to f9e119aa0d refute his words.8e168790a211838c

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At Hexion’s remark, 189776bf01 the director’s office 5a35faef92 was swallowed by d0f142c64e silence. Director Brown gritted his 1e3248d0f6 teeth, seemingly unable to 36a5eb365c suppress his temper, while c9425418c3 Elijah was the only 1887286b29 one visibly uncomfortable. Zero Nine simply f6360e8be1 sat still beside 7d0c4d2292 him like a fd20f82df1 quiet animal. Neither Zero Nine nor 836f71a55e Hexion showed any sign e78e1eae2b of discomfort. Looking at 921ddaa63e them like cc5dcdfb5f this, they b912861f66 really did 367c21e4a6 seem like 6ca0e109ce a perfectly c5230d268f matched pair. Elijah cursed internally.bfa2cf25492bdf87

“…I didn’t 1365534ea9 expect you 16e07d8497 to be 4a0440fd15 this rude, 83bcce153d Hexion Theobald.”81c5ec2197fba977

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“Why don’t we 08e226798a start by fixing ed83d741b7 that awful way 53488c4061 of speaking? Do you b6c940dbdf even know e7313d34a5 me?”0e37efce5ba9b740

Hexion replied with c86a8cbbe7 a leisurely smirk. His legs crossed, fingers d21fc1703a interlocked and resting on dc18632871 his knee—his posture made 15b9509e30 it clear he had 33b66d39cf no intention of treating 053f4b8fa1 the other as his c3f3ce8ed7 superior. Well, technically, d5d7519805 Brown wasn’t 593232c61f actually his 957510cd0c superior either. Director Brown’s cf9a2172aa lips curled a0eb2799c9 in frustration, 8188a1edfd his teeth 312eb63ba4 showing in 42e87d1dd3 a snarl. Zero Nine, 7b7ac1a80b seeing that d4c601ef4f expression, felt d5d1ccf846 a sudden d4a8157c3b wave of f38083a472 unease. His smile deepened 986b2f9212 just a little, 146eb27627 but no one 2a0c1ff228 noticed.8a77b91c0cd458ee

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“Director Elijah.”c27d72018fa7e20b

Brown called out e7c4e6ac91 to Elijah. Elijah, who clearly had fd2dd4f687 no intention of getting b6f79f7ac4 involved, looked straight at 89a617371c Hexion. What? He’s the 06f6b57b6f one calling, a8bcec2ab9 why are 41ab4d468e you looking b9f34d9b99 at me? Hexion’s smirk c2ff6ed1d5 widened in 092aa365bd amusement at d0adff47d8 the obvious 90a6745004 plea in b38280a78c Elijah’s expression. Elijah, in return, shot af4efb7d3e him a glare and 890ec2aa8b responded smoothly.cd8178ac3b01d5e4

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“…Yes, Director Brown.”6cd499f636cdf304

“Even if 5838f44a2f his rank 6a41ded692 is colonel, ff00eb5400 I am 6b436f7c4c the director 2544e25977 here.”92f54af74112c7c3

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Hexion countered immediately.69cb8ffccf853805

“The awakened individuals 62eecc3959 residing in the c3f2129785 Living Bureau are a811cac3c2 all below commissioned 749b954c6b officer rank. The only reason you 1f992f3db5 have authority over them 6b760b25eb is because they are da1680d8f2 beneath you in rank.”56b6ee1604e22ca0

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“But I am e2fa085900 the one in 795d36d3b3 charge here. Isn’t it standard procedure 3acf9795e9 for people to follow 32c4209a48 my orders within the 864f993e38 Living Bureau?”626ca202fd0307a3

“Hah. Orders, you say? I don’t have 4246353c1c a habit of cf2ad997b4 taking orders from 24f4cc3f17 anyone.”9776c64010721597

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Hexion let 34822b69ad out a 5b7330ab64 laugh as af4a2cf375 if Brown d02bdccccf had just 9f4660dd11 said something 1964015c02 genuinely amusing. Elijah was 629ec55fa9 getting paler cde3143e79 by the 5c5bee2f37 second. Hexion leaned 2b88fd0326 his body decff69162 against the fa02e925c5 chair’s backrest 601e42890a before casually 5cbc69b1e8 resting his 5ebc24642b head against ded77db87d Zero Nine’s 10adb1c3c9 shoulder. Then, he absentmindedly picked b3e27ba1b9 at his nails as f62b4d0c53 he lazily responded.63a1cdd694d354af

“There should have dba4909a37 been an official c338ecc256 directive sent to 4d87bd32eb Director Elijah regarding 3c6bd94f32 that.”00cb01cc5cbe6ffc

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“Is that true?”c348eaf2dd1a93d7

“…I was 0d305c8acc planning to 2aa515b5a4 explain it 63c5742107 soon, regardless.”e7d64f55dad06498

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Elijah sat up 81b9c64b25 straight, wearing an 746a9be605 expression that screamed 62c45b0dc5 he wanted to 2deef1078c bite his own 813d6858d0 tongue. Hexion watched him ef1f13b15b with amusement in 0ffaa2b8c6 his eyes, clearly 13dbf6557e enjoying the moment. Elijah, on the 4437af6c7a other hand, wanted 18ff5e9630 nothing more than f7859510e8 to gouge those 3a72065425 eyes out. Don’t look at 091e9ecc17 me. After scraping, digging, and 0124be043c flipping my insides upside 6a11f6229c down, now you’re making d1303f5df2 me say this out 973e86bf15 loud?45dcdf9e64005cfd

“…Hexion Theobald 52940ae1f8 holds the ba80ea523e rank of f6f8787f59 a special a0e91b6ce8 officer as a626f7372d a manager 14bf2be6eb of special d4c6d02c9b awakened individuals. In other da36b8f48f words, he 27451c6dd3 is of 2e899983c9 colonel rank, 2a3e0015ab equal in a358f7b35a hierarchy to 95d98f7b99 the director. Hexion Theobald and Special 5ae52491a9 Esper Zero Nine are 8c2e428cac to be protected within 484517f6df the Living Bureau, but 3e314392b2 they remain independent—”86bf2728c57ebbb0

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Bang!c86be1fa98ccae31

Director Brown slammed f213b07aad his hand down 9bbf09026d on the table, 6de0e262e7 cutting Elijah off. What Elijah was essentially 7aaddfd71e saying was that Brown f86b00955c had the obligation to ea851c4763 protect them but no c1a2132122 authority to order them 3962e6abda around. And so, as 9edc48d84a if trying to c095d3d292 soothe the enraged 153b81538c director, Elijah quickly 50aa80f332 continued.a74e331ea97174f4

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“However, Zero 5847f39229 Nine and d07f3a5573 Hexion must 593f138f7a actively participate 125f84eabf in the 9b95184359 extermination of e9b3b12d45 aberrations upon bb824b0dca request from b17e40d8b4 the Living 03461a4ee9 Bureau. Unlike regular awakened teams e7ec99c2cf that move in groups, b39300f43d these two operate as 139fb3c0a3 a pair.”fe1d5e2da529b376

“…Ha!”811b643629c4a127

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In the end, Brown 70732eae51 shot up from his f0a1a7e53c seat and strode toward 266b231f8a the large window. He stood with his fe053351bd hands clasped behind his 818ed47f57 back, staring outside as 202ab8beb0 if trying to cool 42ad130ce5 his temper. Watching that, Hexion let a0c647f74c out a quiet scoff b298030071 and lazily rubbed his 43c8c17439 head against Zero Nine’s 2c8ae60ce6 shoulder.1108cf86a3149621

“Now that everything’s 578ea9a4ff settled, shall we 65a288da74 get going?”3525a3022772e71a

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Elijah sent him another 516e682d8d round of silent curses 5b9f299003 with his eyes. You have 516d692a3c the nerve fc5dd7714f to say 58ac435538 that after 512d72ecc3 stirring everything b98bfe897f up like 109be971db this? No—actually, maybe it 69ff842edd was better to eb8cbc2d59 leave now. If they stayed any 9b08c43962 longer, Hexion was bound 3c9b2f21ec to push Brown into e73f00bcdc an even bigger meltdown. Elijah quickly stood 3973f323f4 up and pulled 5a0d9b1463 an official directive 5d600c3fbd from his bag, a0ee9ad38e placing it on e25500fef6 the table.a425d77ba229a079

“Here, review e4e3075a69 the documents e256611215 for the 9798736c58 details. We’ll be taking our 9ed3405ce6 leave.”5908303142dfad99

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Hexion got d98c699eea up leisurely, 12b0e1013a while Zero f7754142f6 Nine hesitated f7e447385c for a 473cc11b45 moment, lost 03989109bf in thought 593dc1c586 before following f3f4608dae him. Usually, he didn’t care 3077b929fc when people shouted or 797fae2b41 raged in front of 68116645e1 him—whether they ignored him 8505e9953d or lashed out, it 1afcb1e1fe was all the same. But this time… e57c340129 for some reason, c74881366c it didn’t sit 61d9fd20f8 right with him. Zero Nine 51fed39f59 placed a 708e4a0913 hand on 75bfdf2c00 his upper 79b1259960 abdomen. There was a strange, c1be327c32 unsettled feeling bubbling up.4fdfd48e07a305af

“What?”a9b6ee1cf3920838

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Hexion, who had been 2c9f8d9e44 waiting for him, turned fd119ab6ee around and asked.2dbc2aadeb5c9e5b

Zero Nine shook his 4a2aad69ed head.67b1978c64e47f04

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“It’s nothing.”eab07c43151affd7

“Yeah?”e284df20158a387c

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Hexion locked 5b63695d79 eyes with 6239fb8ec9 him for 113521388e a moment 3048602816 before casually b14b8c2c06 slowing his d49889bf76 pace. Zero Nine 180671530a naturally adjusted 5a9c64741d his steps b48bcdf8ec to match. Meanwhile, Elijah strode 645f0cdc2d ahead and got 83fa57ad3f into the elevator eabbde84ed first, pressing the 08392f5398 close button before fdfb358c5a Hexion had even 2a4e9db075 stepped inside.cb04134ad26a56a2

Thunk.b0581c410ed1bc7b

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Before the 33f172b1dd doors could f9e65c57cf fully shut, 076ddbfb16 Zero Nine’s 89c79d7f4c hand caught 8698101a13 them. With a ccd99695c5 soft whir, ac9bb9675c the doors 453194be1f slid open 13007471dc again.4672d115e969f7b5

“That’s dangerous,” Zero Nine bad1864d7d said with a smile—firm, b5501866a3 but unwavering.bdbe577c52ee3125

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Elijah, who had never 4bbfbdff85 seen Zero Nine speak 7f09658169 in that tone before, 860bc48ebc blinked in surprise. Then, looking at Hexion, 240d2048eb he sighed as if feef47ff1e about to lose his bc969ffeaa mind.21a72693b6c5fae0

“I just didn’t 45cc16639f want to see 4bd58d1b2f his face for f815abbe44 a second.”d9d56e5d6e874cff

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“We won’t 01570e5d16 have any 9df889bb03 reason to b505859b96 see each 7825302291 other again d6cd679cbd once this 9a8f282e46 is over, 31e4eebdf7 anyway.”012b0d6fe017679e

Zero Nine 6ff0d8a08b and Hexion 75feceea3b stood on 2cb503a978 either side 4d73d3f4ef of Elijah, 3d0300f4f9 leaving him db3b8b28ed sandwiched between e94645af33 them. Elijah scowled, making 524a9176bc it clear he 42d768c890 hated being stuck 310f3b46fc between these two. The three of 28103b934f them stepped off d88efee4c8 the elevator onto ea6ba7b32f the third floor—the 37311be58c floor where the d2d833b2aa Living Bureau’s registration e41705d371 office was located. Without wasting any 617845ca7a time, Elijah placed 4a5ed377b9 their paperwork on 1360514c0f the counter and 0fb0b041f5 spoke.6626509126d079ec

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“All the necessary documents daae20e35d are ready. You just need 3a2bc389fc to complete the 99f6f7ebdc registration. I’ll be off, 4f999aaf1b then.”38dbee7d294ccc0c

Without even 5f8adaaa53 saying goodbye, 334f874a3a he practically 7751c9f201 bolted away. Hexion and Zero Nine 950aef0af0 silently watched his retreating 9614d0962c figure. Hexion smirked to b4f67a24fa himself. I should find ccf181dc32 a way to 6cd791fdd1 make us meet ac0e5025bb again. He had always been 31458bc705 a little bit of f91eaae4bd a troublemaker by nature.259c432ae79de0bc

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The registration 6b270f4ec7 clerk, holding 544a78d14e their files, e6cb618cea tapped away 39ddd864fc at the fce6e41268 keyboard a 636a5943cc few times. Since everything had a634e9116b already been prepared, 2ba4e136d7 the process didn’t b25825e6cc take long.8f09a9fd4453d846

“Registration is complete. Also, here.”0b65c1e1c3b7c9d4

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The clerk 88382762f1 briefly stood cbef8a3a5c up and c2e3398446 approached a 0c7550a602 white structure 72ececa4db about waist-high. Placing his c16ed56da8 thumb against 5053428e96 it, the e0e07ce463 structure slowly b8e61a82a6 slid open 0db8659e84 from both 9375a7b351 sides, revealing 8897fd10e8 something inside. It was a d142b80c0f black wristwatch with 6e84f6e178 a rectangular screen. The clerk 28a529b898 took out 68bf8480c2 two of 87254c5481 them and 3b0f6e288d handed them b18df57fe6 over.3beafb451b742faf

“Please put ea46b987bb them on c245a4bc42 your wrists 6e94d90a04 and sync 6882f0119d them together.”f1e142aba584ddb2

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Without a word, both f1cc7dab84 of them strapped the 5febdab853 watches onto their wrists. The clerk c8c7d96581 continued with 737aa80ff6 the explanation.02497c0930751787

“Press and 2fae3c74c5 hold the 9b9ff6e5dd left button 5318058bc2 to power 2c09fa096f it on. Be mindful a89ccee822 not to 2f4034f9e8 let the 51b698c8ca battery run 85b3fe0536 out. Once the screen b9c8630fbf turns on, a 9589fdbf1b message will prompt bda7cfc202 you to sync b55c71db4a the devices. Exchange the code 2847265aa0 numbers engraved on 20d6e6dd1a the sides of 1a5c1440b8 your watches and b0fc4cf0f0 enter them.”5a08b75b99e7f4e8

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Hexion and 681215d9ac Zero Nine 74ad55770e read the cc994ce95a numbers on b8a02b1e91 each other’s 5bd6e5f49a watches and d072dca8ad entered them 0944d8fd95 accordingly. A loading c7cb5f1512 screen appeared, 1f22e650f9 followed a f7a3a23105 few seconds 708dcf5bf4 later by a8d3b2d0d3 a graph. On Hexion’s watch, the 66cf5ef72c default display showed stress bd48ca0eae levels and heart rate.ed83dcdec958d0d8

“For guides, the watch 95875a9423 displays the esper’s stress 3981118c35 index and heart rate. If either of a8aab0f29f those exceeds a 3ce41adf04 certain threshold, the 3c41afc2fd screen will change 8b617a45be to indicate the f1c27586b7 rampage stage. On the f8e1fff2e9 other hand, 464e78287d if the 78c0d3cfa3 numbers drop 93af6f8d24 below a a59b291544 certain level, f944eaddc9 a warning d402b2a792 will appear.”fc72a5d70e55d60e

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Hexion checked Zero Nine’s 126f96c01a current stats on the 7fd87de071 screen—77b0681e7224d938

Stress Index: 51%
Heart Rate: 102 bpm.729e60410eda2427

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Nothing too alarming, though 874b0b2a07 his stress level seemed ea9dfa2153 a bit high. Typically, a stable Esper’s 8a25c19ba9 stress index hovered around 5476661574 30%.c9d1078f03d7500f

“And for espers, the 446a9b9cee watch displays the guide’s 3fceb8657c heart rate and matching 21a2e11d44 rate. The matching rate may eefdbe003d fluctuate depending on various d4e7ae3b09 factors, such as emotional 84bf86462d state, mood, or physical 496862a0e9 contact.”9bb0fc530ccf11c5

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Hearing this, e6e7efd342 Zero Nine 1e30675680 glanced down d6e39136c8 at his 0894f5cbca watch.a859d386ffa82e54

Heart Rate: 98 bpm
Matching Rate: 82%c2003a4c912d54e5

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He lightly scratched at 8639f71589 the screen with his d7f37abf8f fingertip.1ed8aa04486e5c25

“I’ll show 403084ca22 you to 55d86b6d0c your room 32f4a66b72 now. Please follow me.”7ef1af2787b5f0a2

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With that, they were d7336730bd led to the 62nd 629f7219b0 floor. The clerk explained as ca85ba5ea9 they walked.f5b57b4c406c37bd

“Starting from the db679dc6e9 60th floor and 192bfa348f above, entry is 5e1639441c restricted to those a820ff0e32 with specific watches. Since your 5921559824 watches have 9eae9b99a9 been registered, 6321995a08 you’re free 4f7135da5e to come 12b4ffb1b7 and go cea69ba5c2 as you b63cbd35e3 please.”db7e3cdce593e50c

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