Chapter 208: Ch 208: Meeting Ethan Again - Part 2

Noah got up in the dead of night for no reason. But it was just hard for him to be able to sleep.

As a result, he ended up walking outside in order to try and clear his mind.

He passed through the living room where Ethan was sleeping, and he could not help but let out a smile. But even that smile did not last for long once he recalled that Ethan was here to bring Daniel and Alan back.

Now, Noah’s time with them was limited, and he needed to make the best of it.

’You can always head back with them. There is no need for you to torture yourself alone like this. It can even be fun-’

Noah smacked his head against the wall lightly to get rid of that thought in his mind. He did not want to head back.

He had finally built a life for himself, and he had also made sure to utilise the last gift Erin gave him. He did not want anything else.

"I am sure the day of our parting will come soon. Now, I should return to my room-"

*Beep*

The beeping sound was not loud, but since it was dark and quiet, Noah could hear it clearly. It made him curious, and he decided he wanted to try and find where that noise was coming from.

He tried looking around, but it was not from the house. And then, his eyes fell on Ethan, and he felt himself go cold.

The soft beeping sound was coming from Ethan. More specifically, from Ethan’s pocket.

Noah knew that it was not right for him to touch a sleeping kid like this because it could lead to problems and misunderstandings.

But he still felt his hands moving towards Ethan’s pocket to check what that beeping noise was.

His hands brushed against something solid, and he pulled it out. It was an old-looking phone that was vibrating. It almost felt like it was trying to connect to a call, but was not able to.

Noah opened the flip, and the phone jumped to life. And the first thing that it did was connect to a call.

Noah watched the screen in front of him jump to life and then flash with the picture of a familiar person. And his first instinct was to throw the phone far away.

But his hand felt glued to the phone.

[New Sequence Data has been found]

[System will update itself now]

[User: Noah has been bound once more. Welcome, user. Did you miss me?]

Those last words were not said in the system’s stoic tone but in a mocking yet familiar tone he could not forget, no matter what.

Noah felt his breath becoming shallower, making it hard for him to even realise what was happening.

[It looks like you are exhibiting early signs of memory loss and a panic attack. This is not good. We need to get you out of this place and into the open. Won’t you follow instructions and walk out?]

The mocking tone asked, and Noah felt his body complying without any question.

He walked outside, one foot moving at a time, but he did not want to follow those orders.

Noah did not want to be controlled by the system this way.

"Stop-!"

[Shhh! There is no need for you to fear anything. Just allow your body to follow instructions. Let’s have a talk, Subject S-001.]

The familiar title made Noah sigh, and he followed the voice outside.

The night was dark today, and there was no longer any way to be able to tell Noah where he was heading to. An animal could attack at any second as well, and Noah would likely be forced to kill it to protect himself.

He did not like this happening.

And yet, his body continued to move as if it was not in his control.

The phone in his grasp rang once more, and he looked down with a stoic expression.

He did not want to pick up the phone, and yet, his body made the decision on its own, and he accepted the incoming call.

This time, the phone shone, and then a hologram appeared in front of him. The person in the lab coat looked younger than he recalled... no, the head researcher had not aged a single day since Noah had last seen him.

He was sure that this was the result of some experiment he did not want to know about. What he did want to know about was what this man wanted from him.

"What do you want?"

Noah asked immediately, not even giving the elder a chance to get a word out. And his impatience only served to amuse the head researcher.

"Tsk, my dear Subject S-001, are you asking me this because you don’t know? Or are you trying to act stupid on purpose because you don’t want to give me answers? Whatever decision you make, I have to admit that it is rather cute."

A hand reached out towards Noah’s face, but he pulled back at the last second to avoid that touch.

The head researcher kept looking at his outstretched hand with a blank look on his face, but it soon turned into a smiling expression.

"Oh well. It seems like you have no intention of coming back home right now? I am here to tell you that throwing tantrums is not an attractive look, and it’s time for you to come back now."

The head researcher’s voice was calm but commanding. He was speaking quietly, but his words still echoed inside Noah’s mind, making him flinch and rub his forehead.

It hurt, and it was annoying, but Noah held his ground and refused to back down in front of the head researcher.

His defiance made the older man sigh once more.

"There is no point in resisting me like this. I am not your enemy, Noah. You will only hurt yourself if you try to go against me."