Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1736: Delta City, The Iron Core!

Hmmmm~

With a lazy hum, the sleek luxury car glided through the road, its anti-gravity stabilisers emitting a soft blue glow.

Every acceleration scattered shimmering blue particles behind the vehicle like fleeting stardust.

“Yaaa…” Young Aether yawned as he slumped comfortably into the adaptive memory seat, its intelligent cushioning subtly reshaping itself to support his posture.

Jonathan sat behind the wheel, though the steering barely needed his touch. The car’s transparent holographic dashboard continuously projected traffic routes while an autonomous navigation quietly calculated millions of variables every second.

Jonathan briefly glanced at him before returning his attention to the flowing traffic.

“Didn’t get enough sleep?”

Young Aether lazily nodded.

“A little…”

Jonathan chuckled under his breath.

“Haha… you’ll get used to it eventually.”

Young Aether simply turned his gaze toward the panoramic crystal window.

Outside, Delta City’s morning skyline stretched endlessly toward the clouds.

It wasn’t much different from Beta City.

Tall buildings.

Crowds of people.

Advanced vehicles.

His thoughts, however, lingered on something entirely different.

Get used to it?

Yeah… absolutely not!!

Even though nothing had actually happened, he simply couldn’t ignore the fact that Jonathan’s wife had genuinely attempted to kill him.

During breakfast, she had behaved almost perfectly normally, smiling politely as though nothing had happened, yet only hours earlier she had been standing over his body with a knife tightly gripped in her hand.

That wasn’t exactly the kind of morning anyone simply “got used to.”

After quietly replaying everything in his mind while eating breakfast, Young Aether finally arrived at a single conclusion…

“Say…” he began, releasing a tired sigh before turning toward Jonathan. “Your wives… they don’t secretly hate me or something… do they?”

Jonathan blinked, his expression filled with genuine confusion.

“No, Bro. Of course not.” He frowned slightly before asking, “Why would they hate you? Did something happen? Did either of them hurt you? Tell me honestly, Aether.”

Young Aether awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

“No… no, nothing like that.”

He hesitated before continuing.

“It’s just… Maiuri was standing over me with a knife while I was sleeping.”

“…”

Jonathan’s fingers lightly tapped against the steering wheel as the vehicle automatically overtook several slower cars, seamlessly merging into another traffic lane.

After several long seconds, he finally sighed.

“Maiuri’s parents… were killed by monsters right in front of her.”

“…”

“She watched everything happen,” Jonathan continued quietly. “She couldn’t save them. Ever since that day, she’s sworn to kill every otherworlder responsible for tragedies like hers.”

“You’re from another Empire, and despite knowing you’re my friend… perhaps seeing you awakened those old instincts. Maybe it was simply an impulse she couldn’t suppress.”

Jonathan shook his head.

“Don’t worry. I’ll speak with her once we get home. She isn’t unreasonable. She just… carries wounds that never really healed.”

Young Aether remained silent.

The explanation made uncomfortable sense.

Revenge.

Hatred born from loss.

Those emotions weren’t foreign to him.

Even if Jonathan completely trusted him, Maiuri had no reason to.

In her eyes, he was still an outsider. Perhaps she feared that one day he might become the very nightmare that had already stolen her family once before.

“…I suppose I can’t really blame her,” he muttered quietly.

Jonathan offered a small smile.

“If you’re still uncomfortable… you can always sleep in Sasha’s room instead.”

Young Aether’s face instantly became expressionless.

He could probably survive sharing a roof with Maiuri.

Sasha, however…

Absolutely not!!

Jonathan noticed his horrified expression and couldn’t help laughing.

“What? Sasha’s a wonderful girl.” He raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you notice how much she was looking after you yesterday? She was genuinely worried.”

Young Aether slowly turned toward him with the expression of someone staring into the abyss.

“Please…” he said in a voice filled with genuine despair. “If you really care about my well-being… just let me sleep outside.”

He folded his hands together as though offering a prayer.

“I’m begging you.”

Jonathan glanced at Young Aether and… realised that his friend was genuinely afraid of Maiuri.

“I promise you,” he said firmly, “nothing will happen to you.”

Young Aether parted his lips, intending to object, but Jonathan simply raised a hand before he could speak.

“I told you,” he repeated calmly, “I’ll take care of it. Trust me.”

Young Aether remained silent for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh.

There was little point arguing anymore.

Several minutes later, the surrounding cityscape gradually changed as they approached a heavily restricted district.

As their car slowed, dozens of invisible sensors immediately activated.

A pale blue lattice of scanning light swept across the vehicle from every direction, analysing biometric signatures and vehicle authorisation codes in less than a second.

ACCESS GRANTED

The holographic words briefly flashed before dissolving into particles.

Without Jonathan needing to present an identification card or utter a single word, the gates silently separated, allowing the car to enter.

The moment they crossed the checkpoint, Young Aether’s eyes widened.

The scenery transformed completely.

Gone were the towering commercial districts and endless holographic advertisements.

A colossal industrial fortress that stretched far beyond the horizon. Thousands of towering steel structures pierced the clouds, each covered in countless illuminated windows, massive cooling vents, and endless networks of metallic pipes. Crimson warning lights pulsed across the buildings like the heartbeat of an enormous machine, while pillars of smoke and blazing furnaces painted the sky in shades of black, orange, and deep red.

Gigantic holographic banners several stories tall illuminated the district with crimson light, proudly displaying the insignia of Delta Division alongside bold military slogans that reflected the Empire’s unwavering ideology.

“Machines Built. Armies Born.”

“Infrastructure Is Power.”

“Strength Through Superior Technology.”

“Reactors Never Sleep.”

Every message served as a reminder that this city existed for only one purpose.

War!

Convoys of armoured vehicles rolled across roads, engineers hurried between workshops carrying holographic blueprints, and maintenance drones swarmed around unfinished combat machines performing thousands of precise adjustments every second.

Several towering humanoid mech suits stood upon enormous testing platforms, each nearly the height of a small building, while technicians inspected their armour plating and calibrated glowing weapon systems before the next round of combat trials.

Above the streets, heavily armed military aircraft and transport carriers continuously crossed the sky in carefully organised aerial lanes. [Imgincmt]

Sensing the unmistakable amazement on his friend’s face, Jonathan couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Every Division serves a different purpose, Aether,” he explained.

“Beta Division specialises in genetic engineering, biotechnology, and human enhancement.”

He gestured toward the enormous factories outside.

“But this…”

His smile widened with unmistakable pride.

“This is Delta Division.”

He slowed the car slightly as they passed another colossal manufacturing complex where newly forged mech frames emerged from gigantic assembly lines.

“Delta City, also known as the Iron Core of the Terra Empire.”

His voice naturally became more serious.

“This is the Empire’s military heart. Without Delta, Alpha or any other divisions wouldn’t have survived, our borders would’ve collapsed, and the Hell’s Gate would’ve swallowed everything years ago.”

His fingers lightly tapped against the steering wheel as he continued.

“Military manufacturing… Mech suit production… armoured divisions… advanced weapon development… energy reactors… orbital defence systems…. every piece of equipment used by the Empire is designed, built, and maintained right here.”

He pointed toward a distant tower rising above every other building.

“And overseeing all of it is the Delta Governor.”

His eyes carried unmistakable respect.

“The Iron Marshal.”

“The entire division answers to him.”

Jonathan paused before a grin slowly spread across his face.

“And me…”

He casually pointed a thumb toward himself.

“I’m the second-in-command.”

Young Aether blinked.

Jonathan puffed out his chest dramatically.

“I’m the Supreme Commander of Delta Division.”

He laughed proudly.

“Sure, every district has its own commanders managing local forces, but among them all, I’m directly beneath the Iron Marshal himself.”

He gave Young Aether a playful wink, showing off how much he had grown up.

“So yeah… I’m kind of a big shot around here.”

Young Aether couldn’t help smiling.

“Then enjoy being a ‘big shot’ while you still can.”

Jonathan frowned.

“Huh?”

Young Aether leaned back against his seat with an innocent smile.

“I mean… once you learn the truth, you’ll be coming with me, bitch. Hehe~”

Jonathan snorted before letting out a confident laugh.

“Then you’d better get ready to kill your own kind.”

“…”

Young Aether quietly clicked his tongue without responding.

Just as he firmly believed Jonathan would eventually stand beside him…

Jonathan possessed the exact same confidence.

Neither of them doubted the other would change sides.

Only time would decide whose conviction proved stronger…

…and who would ultimately be forced to betray everything they believed in.

A few minutes later, the car entered a massive military workshop surrounded by towering hangars. Giant blast doors slowly opened as the vehicle rolled inside before coming to a smooth stop.

After parking, both of them stepped out.

The interior was enormous, filled with half-completed mech suits suspended by magnetic cranes while hundreds of engineers and maintenance drones worked in perfect coordination. Sparks rained from elevated platforms as robotic arms welded layers of metal pieces onto newly assembled combat frames.

Jonathan turned toward Young Aether.

“You said you’ve already received your Golden ID, right?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

Jonathan extended his hand.

“Hand it over. I need to verify both your Golden ID and your Origin Card before we proceed.”

Young Aether didn’t hesitate. He reached into his pocket and handed both cards over.

Jonathan accepted them before carefully examining the Golden ID from every angle. He inspected the engraved security patterns, tilted the metallic surface beneath the overhead lights, and studied the barcode.

“Hmm…”

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a handheld authentication scanner. A thin beam of blue light swept across the Golden ID while dozens of encrypted data streams flashed across its holographic display.

[Authenticating Identity…]

[Verifying Signature…]

[Checking Tower Registry…]

The scanner remained silent for several seconds before its display flashed green.

[Verified!]

Jonathan stared at the screen for another moment before slowly lowering the scanner.

“…It’s actually legitimate.”

His voice carried unmistakable disbelief.

“How the hell did you get this?”

Honestly, Jonathan hadn’t believed Aether earlier when he claimed an old pawnshop owner had helped him. He had assumed the card was a sophisticated fake that had somehow slipped past the border’s automated inspection systems.

Yet this…

This wasn’t counterfeit.

Every encrypted security layer matched the Tower’s records perfectly.

It was an officially issued Golden ID.

Someone inside the Tower had personally authorised it.

Jonathan slowly raised his head.

“Bro…” he said seriously. “Tell me the truth.”

Young Aether blinked.

“You know someone inside the Tower… don’t you?”

“What are you talking about?” Young Aether frowned. “I already told you. It was just that old man who helped me.”

Jonathan stared at him for several seconds before throwing both hands into the air.

“Oh, come on!” he groaned. “Since when can a pawnshop owner casually issue a legitimate Tower-issued Golden ID? Do you hear yourself?”

Young Aether simply shrugged.

“How should I know?”

His expression remained completely genuine.

“…”

Jonathan suddenly fell silent.

“…Yeah…”

He rubbed his forehead.

“How would you know…”

His shoulders relaxed slightly as he realised he had been questioning the wrong person.

‘Looks like I’ll have to investigate this myself.’

His eyes narrowed slightly.

‘Someone capable of issuing official Golden IDs outside the Tower… that’s not something the government can simply ignore.’

He quietly put the thought away before shifting his attention to the second card.

The Origin Card.

Jonathan casually glanced at it.

Then froze.

“…”

He blinked once.

Then twice.

Slowly, he rubbed his eyes before looking again.

The numbers remained exactly the same.

‘Am I seeing this correctly…?’

“…That’s… a lot.”

He muttered almost unconsciously.

Young Aether smiled awkwardly.

“Well… I guess I get lucky most of the time.”

Naturally, he assumed Jonathan was referring to the fifty attribute points distributed across his status.

Jonathan, however, hadn’t even looked at those.

His eyes remained completely fixed on a single line.

Aevum… [87,000]

His pupils slightly contracted.

‘Just below mine…’

Jonathan frowned.

‘The President specifically stated that Otherworlders shouldn’t possess Aevum until Terra establishes an official Connection with their world.’

‘So why does Aether already have eighty-seven thousand…?’

‘Is it because he’s originally from this world?

Or did simply entering Terra somehow grant him Aevum?’

…No.’

He immediately rejected that theory.

‘If entering Terra automatically generated Aevum, then every slave brought from other worlds would’ve possessed it as well.

But none of them did.’

Jonathan stared at Aether for another moment.

‘Sigh… Nothing about this guy ever makes sense.’

“Jonny?”

Jonathan snapped back to reality.

“N… Nothing. Let’s get going.”

With that, he turned and began walking deeper into the enormous workshop.

Young Aether quietly followed behind.

Unlike Jonathan, who remained lost in confusion, Young Aether was doing everything in his power to suppress the excitement bubbling inside him.

Not because he was finally going to receive his own mech suit…

Well… maybe getting his own mech suit was part of the excitement.

However, what truly made his heart race had nothing to do with military equipment.

He had finally found the true source of the horrors that had destroyed his world.

This place.

Delta Division!

Young Aether’s expression slowly became colder.

This…

‘This needs to burn to the ground!’

He thought coldly as his darkness swamped his eyes.

Who could have imagined that after arriving at this division, he would stumble upon the birthplace of those damned steel monsters?

Those emotionless machines…

Those towering metal monsters that had reduced cities to ashes, slaughtered innocent people without mercy, and transformed his once peaceful world into a graveyard…

They were all born here.

Perhaps fate truly had a sense of irony.

Giving him his friend as well as… this place to burn.

“Aether?”

Jonathan’s voice suddenly pulled him back to reality.

Young Aether blinked once, and the chilling darkness lingering within his eyes vanished without leaving the slightest trace. The coldness in his expression melted away as naturally as morning mist beneath the rising sun, replaced by the bright curiosity of a young boy seeing an incredible new place for the very first time.

“I am coming~”

He answered with an innocent smile before jogging after Jonathan, looking exactly like a child who had finally convinced his father to buy him his favourite toy.

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