Chapter 533

Jake and Owen moved through the streets of Dead City, heading toward the subway entrance that would take them to Mick’s portal. Occasionally, they ran into groups of ravagespawn, but dealing with them posed no challenge for the two mutants. A few swift strikes were usually enough to put them down, allowing Jake and Owen to continue without losing much time.

At some point, as they finished taking care of another group of monsters, an unfamiliar message suddenly appeared before Jake’s eyes.

Level Up. 1 → 2

New skill unlocked: Mind Breach

Jake stopped in his tracks. What the hell was that? Jake had no idea what it was all about. What exactly did he just level up?

He motioned for Owen to halt, then quickly checked his stats. He went through them carefully, looking for anything that had changed. However, there was nothing new there at all. His attributes seemed exactly the same as before, and the Mind Breach skill he had supposedly just earned was nowhere to be seen.

Something about this didn’t make sense. Then it hit him. The chip Mick had installed in his head. That had to be it.

A wave of annoyance rose within him as he thought about it. The human had told him the only function of the chip was to provide him with an extra chunk of experience every time he earned some. But now, after what had just happened, it was clear that wasn’t the chip’s only function. There was something else hidden inside it, something Mick had deliberately chosen not to mention.

Mick had lied to him. Jake didn’t like that. Not one bit.

The two mutants continued moving through the city. They made their way toward the subway entrance. They encountered a few more creatures along the way, but none of them managed to slow them down.

Eventually, they reached the subway entrance and descended into the darkness below. The air underground was colder and carried the stale smell of decay, but Jake paid it little attention. They moved through the familiar tunnels, heading toward the underground cavern where Mick’s teleporter was located.

It didn’t take them long to reach it. After stepping through the portal, they were instantly transported back to Mick’s base.

A moment later, the two mutants entered the main room, where Mick was already waiting for them.

“You are finally here, friends,” he said as he scuttled toward them on his two mental, spider-like legs.

“You knew we were coming?” Jake asked. The last time he had been in contact with Mick was on the bridge of the living vessel, before everything had gone to hell.

“Yes,” Mick replied. “One of my drones spotted you running through the city a few minutes earlier. I knew you were headed for my humble abode.”

Jake didn’t say anything. He simply kept staring at Mick, studying him carefully. He wanted to ask him about the additional functionality of the chip he had decided not to tell him about. The question was already sitting on the tip of his tongue.

However, it could wait. Right now, he needed Mick focused on one thing: extracting the Grafters’ chip from Owen’s head.

“You did a great job getting Owen out of that bio-ship, Jake,” Mick said. “It was truly impressive. I saw what was left of the bio-ship that crashed in the city. The amount of damage you inflicted on it is impressive. But I still kinda hope something survived the crash. I mean, the tech the Grafters use is really impressive.”

Mick’s eyes seemed to light up with excitement as he spoke.

“Do you think anything survived in the crash, Jake?”

Mick was speaking very quickly, his words coming out in a rush and making him barely comprehensible. Jake could tell he was genuinely excited. Whenever Mick discovered something new to study, he became almost impossible to stop.

“Probably not much,” Jake replied. 

“That’s a shame. A real shame.” Mick shook his head, clearly disappointed. “I mean, I could really use some of their tech, if for nothing else than simply studying it, tinkering with it, and progressing my own skill. As you know, it only progresses when I study and tinker with some new technology. And when it advances to a new level, it unlocks blueprints for me to create new amazing devices.”

He leaned forward slightly, his enthusiasm growing with every word.

“Who knows what kind of inventions could become available for me to build if I study the Grafters’ tech? Their technology is unlike anything I’ve seen before. The possibilities could be incredible.”

Mick’s expression became hopeful as he looked at Jake.

“Look, Jake, maybe you could return to the crash site and look for anything you can salvage and bring back to me? Even a small piece could be useful. You never know what secrets might be hidden inside their machines.”

Jake wasn’t really keen on the possibility of recreating the bio-mechanical monsters and weapons the Grafters used. The thought of Mick producing more creatures like those was not something he wanted to encourage.

But before he could even get a word in, Mick immediately continued.

“And I can see that you managed to deactivate the chip that was implanted in Owen’s head without my help at all,” he added. “Great job, Jake.”

“You still need to extract it from his head, though,” Jake pointed out. “Perhaps you should get to it right away. The sooner you remove it, the better.”

“Sure, sure. I know what you mean.” Mick shifted his gaze to Owen, his expression thoughtful. “Perhaps we shouldn’t be hasty about that, eh? I mean, the chip in your head is the Grafter’s piece of tech. Perhaps I should tinker with it, see what I can learn, you know?”

“Absolutely not,” Jake said firmly. “You need to extract it from his head immediately.”

Mick made a face, clearly unhappy with the answer. He glanced briefly at Jake, as if hoping to change his mind, before turning his attention back to Owen.

“Friend, what would you say if I suggested we keep the chip in your head for a little while longer? I just want to study it and see how it affects you, that’s all. Nothing bad will happen, I promise. So what do you say, old friend? You know you can trust me.” Mick leaned closer, his voice becoming more persuasive. “If I notice it does something bad to you, I’ll immediately remove it. I wouldn’t want anything bad happening to you, you know that, right?”

Owen stared at him for a moment, then slowly shook his head. He raised one hand and pantomimed grasping something on the side of his head before violently tearing it away with a hard, sudden yank. The gesture was clear enough.

Jake looked at Mick.

“You got his answer,” he said. “Owen wants it removed. So do it. Now.”

Mick let out a frustrated breath. He shook his head as he looked between the two mutants.

“You shouldn’t be like that, guys,” he said. “But if Owen wants to have the chip removed, then I’ll surely do that.”

He then led Owen to a chair, and once the morphus was comfortably seated, Mick got to work. The process of extracting the chip from his head proved to be somewhat more difficult than implanting one. It required careful precision and several adjustments before he could safely remove it.

It took him a few minutes to get the job done and some more time to remove every other piece of tech the Grafters had implanted in Owen’s body. Mick worked with complete focus throughout the process, carefully extracting each device and placing it aside. Once he was finished, he stepped back and looked over the pile of unfamiliar technology lying in a heap on the table where he had placed it.

“Well, perhaps they didn’t need to be implanted in Owen’s body for me to study them,” Mick muttered as he picked up one piece of tech and turned it over in his hands, giving it a thoughtful look. “I’m sure I can still learn a lot from all this tech. Can’t wait to see what new blueprints it can unlock for me to create new inventions!”

Mick sounded genuinely excited. He seemed to have completely forgotten about Jake standing behind him. His attention was entirely focused on the devices in front of him. He kept muttering something to himself as he picked up one piece of Grafter tech after another, examining each one from different angles and occasionally making small noises of curiosity and fascination.

“You’re gonna have to tell me something,” Jake said.

“What is it?” Mick asked without glancing back at him. His attention remained fixed on the piece of Grafter technology in his hands.

“The chip you installed in my head.”

“What about it?”

“On our way here, it did something it was not supposed to,” Jake said. He watched Mick carefully, looking for any reaction. At the same time, he immediately noticed Owen’s human part of the body tense at his words.

The inventor clearly understood what Jake was talking about.

“You lied to me about the chip, Mick,” Jake said.