My Scumbag System Chapter 643: The Twelve Percent Probability

I got dressed in silence while Natalia watched from the bed. The coordinates from the unknown number burned in my memory like a brand. Somewhere in the mountains north of the city. Remote. Isolated. Perfect for an ambush or a private conversation, depending on who was waiting.

"You’re really doing this."

I finished buttoning my shirt. "You already know the answer."

"I know. I just wanted to hear you say it out loud so I could remember exactly how stupid you sounded when I’m planning your funeral."

"That’s my girl. Always supportive."

She threw a pillow at my head. I caught it without looking.

"Take the car from the garage. The black sedan with the tinted windows. It’s registered to a shell company Veronica set up for discrete transportation." She was already reaching for her phone on the nightstand. "I’m calling Maki to meet you at the coordinates. And I’m alerting Seraphina that you received contact from an unknown party."

"Don’t tell Seraphina."

"Satori—"

"Not yet. If my father is actually out there, the last thing I want is VHC black ops teams crashing the reunion. Give me six hours. If you don’t hear from me by then, call in the cavalry."

Natalia’s jaw worked like she was chewing glass. The pendant flared hot against my chest. Her anger and fear and love all mixed together in a cocktail that made my head swim.

"Six hours," she finally said. "Not a minute longer."

"Deal."

I crossed to the bed and kissed her. She grabbed the back of my neck and deepened it, her tongue sliding against mine with a desperation that spoke louder than words. When we finally broke apart, her lipstick was smeared and her eyes were wet.

"I love you, you absolute disaster of a human being."

"Love you too, princess."

I left before she could see my own expression crack.

The black sedan was exactly where she said it would be. Clean. Unassuming. The kind of vehicle that blended into traffic like a shadow. I slid behind the wheel and punched the coordinates into the navigation system while Maki materialized in the passenger seat.

"Master smells like the purple girl."

"Thank you for that observation."

"Master also smells like fear. And excitement. And something else Maki can’t identify." She leaned closer and sniffed dramatically. "Hope. Master smells like hope. Disgusting."

"You’re a real treasure, you know that?"

"Maki knows." She stretched in the seat, her borrowed hoodie riding up to expose a strip of pale stomach. "Where are we going?"

"To meet my father. Maybe."

Her golden eyes widened. Then she laughed, a sound like wind chimes in a hurricane.

"Master’s life is so entertaining. The Audience must love you."

"Apparently I’m trending."

The car pulled out of the garage and merged into the early morning traffic. New Vein City spread around us in all its chaotic glory. Skyscrapers gleaming in the dawn light. Maglev trains humming along elevated tracks. People going about their ordinary lives, completely unaware that reality was held together by lies and the fragile ego of whatever cosmic entity had decided to play god with humanity.

Must be nice. Being ignorant.

The navigation system estimated two hours to the coordinates. Plenty of time to think about all the ways this could go wrong. My father could be dead and the message could be bait. The mysterious third party Seraphina mentioned could be waiting to dissect me and figure out how the Prometheus Protocol worked. Julian Valerius could have hired assassins. The VHC itself could be testing my loyalty.

Or my father could actually be alive. Waiting for me. Ready to explain why he had turned his infant son into a science experiment and then disappeared for eighteen years.

I wasn’t sure which option scared me more.

Nel’s voice drifted through my consciousness.

Right. That variable.

We left the city limits and the landscape changed. Suburban sprawl gave way to farmland. Farmland gave way to forest. The road narrowed from six lanes to four to two. Traffic disappeared entirely. By the time we reached the foothills, we were the only vehicle in sight.

The coordinates led us to a dirt road that wound up into the mountains. Trees pressed close on either side, their branches forming a canopy that blocked the morning sun. The sedan’s suspension complained about the rough terrain but kept moving.

"Maki senses something."

I slowed the car. "What kind of something?"

"Power. Old power. The kind that has been sleeping for a very long time." Her eyes had gone fully feline, pupils contracting to vertical slits. "Master should be careful."

"When am I not careful?"

"Maki can provide a list if Master desires."

"That was rhetorical."

The road ended at a small clearing. A cabin sat at the far edge, weathered wood and stone that looked like it had been standing since before the Rupture. Smoke drifted from a chimney. A single light glowed in the window.

Someone was home.

I parked the car and killed the engine. The silence was immediate and absolute. No birds. No insects. No wind in the trees. Just the sound of my own heartbeat and the faint pulse of the pendant against my chest.

"Stay here," I told Maki. "Watch my back. If anything goes sideways, fry everything within fifty meters and get me out."

"Even if Master is within fifty meters?"

"I’ll survive."

"Master’s confidence is inspiring. Also potentially delusional."