[10:00 AM]
Zeus woke up to the annoying sound of knocking on his room door. Before he could ask who it was, he heard Aaron's voice.
_ Bro, why is your door locked? Wake up, Zeus... I bet there's a woman in there, which is why you're locking the door and ignoring me!
_ !
_ Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. Just open the door and come out, there's a surprise waiting for you.
"Why is the door locked? ... Ah, right, I remember now."
Zeus had locked the door right after entering his room the previous night, fearing that his angry sister would follow and bother him.
He threw off the covers and instructed the system connected to his ring—which was also linked to the room's power system—to unlock the door.
He then lazily made his way to the sink.
_ I unlocked the door... come in.
The door opened and in walked a young man with a lean, slightly slim build, brown hair, and quite a handsome face.
_ !!
_ What do you think? I had a fat removal procedure yesterday... and with some magical cosmetics, I tightened my loose skin and added a few other touches.
The water faucet kept running as Zeus froze, staring at Aaron's new appearance.
What was also interesting was his stylish outfit—which, as far as Zeus knew, should've been gathering dust in Aaron's closet.
_ Did your parents find a fiancée for you!?
_ !! Who told you!? I haven't told anyone yet! ... Wait, was that just a wild guess!?
Zeus began washing his face, then dipped his head under the water. He grabbed a towel, dried off, and headed to the coat rack near the door.
_ That's not why I came here.
_ ! What now?
Zeus picked up his black clothes and started putting them on. He had previously been wearing only long cotton pants and was shirtless.
_ Take this letter. My father asked me to deliver it to you. Also, the restrictions on you have been lifted.
_ Why?
_ Read the letter and you'll understand.
_ Let's see… This is an official dispatch! Only the military still uses this outdated method.
Zeus pulled a ring and bracelet from the envelope, along with a small memory card.
He immediately recognized the function of the items.
The ring had the same functions as standard ones but was made of durable materials to withstand damage in combat. It also had a direct connection to a military base.
The bracelet, on the other hand, was actually a combat power suit.
Zeus put on the bracelet, which activated and expanded from its compressed form under his clothes, covering his body in a thin layer with energy matrices and complex circuits.
He then wore the ring and synced it with his old one and the memory card from the envelope.
The memory card was actually the message.
A holographic screen appeared in front of Zeus, showing a video of a bald, muscular man standing at 2.3 meters tall, his body and face covered in scars.
He was the commander of Special Unit 293.
_ Return to the base in two days.
That was the whole message.
Zeus asked in confusion:
_ Does that mean I've been reinstated in the unit?
_ Your commander used the word "return," so I think so. If he wanted you to go there for another reason, he'd have said "come to the base." But instead, he told you to return.
_ !! … Have you been studying philosophy or sociology lately?
Aaron smiled confidently and spoke with pride:
_ Why? Was my analysis impressive?
_ You probably shouldn't do that in front of your fiancée if you want to actually get married.
_ !! And what do you know!? If I went to the marketplace right now, I could get hundreds of girls to admire me without even trying!
_ Haha… yeah, and five minutes into a conversation, she'd slap you and leave.
_ !! That's just a cursed streak of bad luck! What did I do wrong?
_ No, that's your awful personality and your absolute lack of skill when it comes to talking to women.
_ !! I seriously don't do anything weird!
_ My friend, if you'd just stop starting conversations by complimenting a woman's chest, you might actually have a shot.
_ !! What's wrong with that!? I'm just speaking the truth!
_ I honestly wonder how you can be a financial genius and also the dumbest person alive in other situations. If brain scientists or AI researchers knew about you, they'd use you as a case study.
_ ! Don't scare me… my fiancée's dad owns an AI chip development company.
_ So, your fiancée… She definitely hasn't met you yet.
_ I've gotten ready, and I have a date with her in an hour — our first meeting. So, how do I look?
_ Aaron, my dear friend… I honestly can't bring myself to compliment you.
_ Really? I knew I looked amazing.
_ No, you misunderstood… I mean, my tongue literally refuses to say the word "h-h-handsome" because I know the awful truth about you — your love of money, women, and your selfishness. Sure, you've got some loyalty, and you're a decent friend… That's about all the praise I can muster.
_ ! You've crushed my feelings.
_ Please, fool someone else. We both know you have no feelings. You're the rudest man alive — can you deny that?
_ Really? I got the title of "rudest"? Damn, man, I'm genuinely happy to have earned that title. Please, stop praising me.
_ Let's head downstairs.
Zeus and Aaron went down to the ground floor, passed through the main hall, and into the backyard garden.
As they passed one of the maids, Zeus asked her to send a request to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for ten people.
But Aaron stopped him and told her to make it for only three.
_ Looks like you're really serious about keeping your weight in check this time?
_ My friend… Let me show you.
Aaron took off his shoes and showed Zeus the soles of his feet.
Zeus noticed many fine scars and looked at Aaron in surprise, waiting for an explanation.
_ These are from the beatings my father gave me… He swore he'd throw me in solitary for a whole month and beat me daily if he found more than 4 kilograms of excess fat on me.
_ Looks like Uncle has lost all hope of lecturing you anymore.
_ Also, I heard he'll do the same to you if he finds out you left the family grounds… So it's best to keep your prosthetic leg hidden these next two days until the energy distribution completes.
Aaron was referring to the distribution phase in the cells — a process that comes before the growth phase, which ends in just three hours with the accelerated growth serum.
Zeus and Aaron would usually time this perfectly, so the final growth phase occurred at midnight while they slept — since the prosthetic couldn't be worn during that period.
_ I used the serum, so it won't take long.