More Important
Hopper hurriedly opened the lunch bag and grabbed a piece of chicken.
"Hey! Yuander! Let go of him right now or you can forget about seeing your beloved fried chicken again!"
Hopper wasn't keen on eating in their current situation, but she still moved the fried chicken to her mouth, threatening to consume it.
Smith, Markrim, and Nia, who had just entered the room looked at Hopper in bewilderment. How was eating fried chicken going to stop Nathan from snapping Markrim's neck?
Surprisingly enough, Nathan held off on ending Markrim and turned to Hopper.
"Don't you fucking dare, you overgrown frog."
Nathan growled at Hopper. But he did put down Markrim, even if he didn't release him.
Hopper couldn't help but flinch in fear when Nathan directed almost all of his hostility toward her. But if fear had been enough to stop her, she would have never become a hero.
"W-what's with the name-calling, huh? If you let go of him, I let go of this chicken. Fair deal, no?"
Markrim didn't feel it was fair that his life was set as equal to a piece of fried chicken, but he was smart enough to stay silent.
Nathan gestured for Hopper to hand over the chicken while slightly relaxing his grasp around Markrim's neck.
Hopper shook her head.
"Nuh-uh. You first."
Nathan took a quick glance around the room and identified all the weapons pointed at him. They hadn't fired since Markrim was in the splash zone. Nathan didn't have to worry about the others in the room, but he did have to be a little careful not to get lasered to pieces.
So, as soon as he let go of Markrim, Nathan dashed over to Hopper and grabbed both the piece of chicken and the lunch bag before somersaulting over her and hiding behind her. However, none of the cannons fired anything.
The study and everyone inside it was intact, at least physically.
Nathan stood up and nonchalantly turned around when he confirmed that he wasn't in danger anymore. He leisurely bit into the fried chicken in his hand while Hopper slowly realized what Nathan had been prepared to do. He had tried to use her as a meatshield.
"So? What now? Because this fucker can't control his brother, the entire city is doomed. If he can't do anything about it, doesn't that mean I have to?"
Nathan glanced around the room. Compared to Markrim, the chicken his mother gave him was more important. He would much rather save the chicken than the scrawny nerd.
But on the flip side, if he didn't have any more chicken, there would be nothing to negotiate with the next time. However, until he finished eating, Nathan decided to gather more information.
"Ahem."
Markrim straightened his shirt with Nia's help. She also inspected Markrim's body before glaring at Nathan. Markrim quietly asked her to calm down before turning to Nathan.
"You are very violent, and you seem convinced my brother plans to ruin this city. Would it be wrong of me to assume you are a former associate of his?"
"Yes. I didn't even know the fucker existed until you spoke about him."
Markrim tilted his head.
"Then, may I ask how you seem to know what my brother has in store for this city?"
"I just do. I also know it's related to this power source. So, hand it over and let me protect it, or do something about it yourself."
Markrim shook his head.
"I think you are mistaken about something, Nathan Yuander Hobster. I don't have the power source."
Nathan almost gave up his chicken to attack Markrim again. Fortunately for him, Markrim hurriedly continued.
"Technically speaking, that is. This Triangle is related to the power source. But it's more of a relay and control station. From here, I can safeguard the power source's operations and prevent my brother from taking control of it."
"Then, where is the power source?"
"...In the underground lab."
Nathan sighed.
"So, by taking down this Triangle, your brother will gain control over the power source. …And the city is…?"
"...To get back at me. He knows I care for it. He wants to pain me by desolating it."
Nathan clenched his fist in anger. It wasn't even that the city was a necessary sacrifice for either of the two brothers. Markrim's brother razed it to the ground to be petty.
Nathan pointed at Markrim with a fierce glare.
"...You're lucky your brother's a bigger piece of shit than you."
Nathan then turned to Smith.
"How and why did you show up to stop me from attacking the Triangle?"
Markrim interrupted before Smith could answer.
"That was me. I still have a couple of contacts in the city's administration.
Nathan turned to Markrim. Realization slowly dawned on both of their faces.
"...Shit."
Markrim hurried to his desk and pulled up six monitors from inside it. One glance was all it took for him to confirm the presence of other invaders who clearly weren't as friendly as Nathan and his companions. He turned to Nathan with a pleading gaze.
"Ugh, fine. I'll deal with them. But you better work on a way to take complete control of the power source. Just defending is not good enough."
Markrim nodded and pressed a button to open a trap door. He and Nia entered a hidden room behind a bookshelf.
Nathan didn't even look as the wall closed behind them, even if he was slightly surprised at how spacious the Triangle's inside was.
Nathan, Hopper, and Smith got ready to leave the study and intercept the invaders before they could damage and bring down the Triangle.
Nathan stopped walking.
"...What are you two doing?"
He glanced at Hopper and Smith, who, while confused, also stopped walking.
"We're coming to help, of course."
Nathan scrunched his nose.
"Don't. Stay here. You'll just get in the way with your flimsy abilities."
Hopper scoffed.
"I might be low-ranking, but I'm still a hero, you know? I can fight."
"Really? What are you going to do? Hop on people?"
Nathan clicked his tongue, and since Hopper looked like she was about to continue protesting, Nathan tapped her jaw and knocked her out before turning to Smith.
"I'll give you a chance. What can you do?"
Smith hesitated for a moment before walking up to the door and opening it to reveal a scene completely different from the hallway that was there only moments ago.