Chapter 209: Ch 209: Do you truly know? - Part 1

The head researcher cautioned Noah, which made him grit his teeth.

Noah’s body froze, and he felt that hand reaching for his face once more. And this time, he was not able to move a single inch, causing that hand to gently pat his face twice before pulling back.

"See, you cannot even avoid it when I touch you, much less try and get away? Can you truly ever break free from my grasp? It’s foolish to think so."

The head researcher was just a hologram, so his hand should not have any weight or definition. But Noah still felt like he could feel the warmth that hand emitted.

Not that the head researcher seemed to care. He simply walked past Noah and looked at his house.

The single action made Noah’s heart go cold. But he knew that saying anything right now would give the head researcher more ammunition.

"Your precious people, Subject E-001 and S-002, are inside, right? I have not told their location to the Esper-Guide Association yet, so they are safe. But I wonder how long they will remain here for."

Now this was a threat.

The head researcher was not saying it clearly, but he was telling Noah that he could cause trouble for Alan and Daniel if he did not cooperate.

"What do you want from me?"

Noah finally asked, feeling burned out from trying to play the head researcher’s game. He knew he had lost the second the system came back. Now he was just stalling for the sake of wanting to prove himself.

But it was useless as well.

"Hmm, what do I want from you? Isn’t it simple? Come back home. You have spent too much time outside and become hard to control. It is causing me headaches."

The head researcher laid his terms out, causing Noah to let out a sigh.

He knew that this day would come.

No matter how much he tried to run away and how successful he was in gaining his freedom, a part of him never believed he could ever be free. And now, it was time to head back.

The small amount of freedom he tasted would have to be enough to last him a lifetime.

But before that, he had a request to make.

"I will come back, but I need you to promise me something. I once saw a few visions of the future, and they told me that it would be extremely crucial for the future for Daniel and Alan to be a pair. This world might be doomed otherwise."

Noah had hinted about this to the head researcher before, but this time, he outright said what he needed to.

He hoped the head researcher would take his words seriously...

However, the head researcher dismissed his words. Or rather, he looked amused at Noah’s claims.

"I see. It is something worth considering. However, have you ever considered that what you are worried about might not truly be the future? Where did you even get the ability to see the future from in the first place?"

The head researcher asked the same questions Noah had asked himself once. But whenever he tried to think about it, his head felt like it was splitting apart.

Even now, when he tried to think about all this, he felt like he was not able to concentrate, and it hurt a lot...

What was he doing...

[Visiting prohibited territory]

[User’s thought process would be changed]

"Darn it! This..."

"I see. I understand what is happening now. Noah, listen to me."

The head researcher called out Noah’s name once more, and it made him look up. He did not even realise when he had gotten down on his knees, but he felt like he had to hear what the head researcher was saying at all costs.

"Your ability to see the future is a hoax. What you know about the future is something your mind has made up for you. You never had the ability to see the future in the first place."

The head researcher dropped the bomb on top of Noah’s head, but that did not feel right.

"No, that is not... it is not possible. I knew what was going to happen far too clearly. That fire and then the Esper-Guide Academy... it all happened-"

Noah was aware that the head researcher was lying to mess with him. But he still refused to believe what was being said.

He refused to believe that the future he saw was not real. Because if it was not, then what was he even clinging to?

The head researcher let out a sigh and then shook his head in sympathy.

"My dear little guide. I understand your shock. But the future you saw was truly not real. A human brain is capable of guessing the future, and some brains are much sharper. The visions you saw were what your brain thought were the most sensible future, brought out by my ability. None of it was real."

The head researcher whispered to Noah, and he felt his heart freezing in shock. He refused to believe that any of this was true.

"I... this is... no way..."

He grasped his heart as he looked up at the head researcher, but the hologram had not changed an inch.

If anything, his smile had widened, and a hand patted Noah’s hair. The touch felt solid, and Noah felt like he was not supposed to look up.

And yet, he did, and his eyes met the head researcher’s.

"It seems like you are still not convinced. Then, I shall show you the truth. Go to sleep now, and you will witness the future I have prepared for you. That way, you will be forced to believe the truth you had been running away from until now."

Noah did not want to see the ’truth’. He wanted to keep living as he had been until now. The talks of the future did not concern him.

And yet, his eyes closed, and he felt his body going slack under the head researcher’s hands.

The next time he opened his eyes, he was back in the labs. And this time, he was not a participant but a researcher.