Absolute Cheater - Chapter 537
Capítulo 537: Treasures V
Asher didn’t say anything else.
He just grabbed the front of the Venos man’s coat and shoved him back against the control tower. The scientist gasped, the metal panel behind him rattling from the impact.
“W-wait—listen—” the man stammered.
“No,” Asher said calmly. “You had your chance.”
The Knight walked up beside Asher, sword still in his hand but pointed down. “You made children fight your battles. You tortured them. You turned them into machines.”
The Venos man shook his head aggressively. “They were nothing before me! I gave them purpose! I made them stronger than they ever could’ve been!”
Asher tightened his grip on the man’s coat and leaned in. “You broke them.”
The man’s breathing grew faster. He kept glancing around as if searching for another weapon, another machine, anything that could save him—but everything in the room was destroyed.
“No more tricks,” Asher said. “No more units. No more hiding behind screens.”
The Venos man swallowed, shaking. “What… what are you going to do to me?”
Asher didn’t answer immediately. He lifted the man off the ground with one hand—effortless, like picking up a piece of scrap metal—and set him down roughly in the center of the room.
The Knight stood a few steps away, watching carefully.
“You’re not killing him,” the Knight said quietly. “Not yet.”
Asher nodded. “I know.”
He looked at the scientist.
“You’re going to take us to the others.”
The man’s eyes widened. “Wh-what?”
“The other kids,” Asher said. “The ones you took. Where are they?”
The Venos man’s lips trembled. “I… I don’t—”
Asher stepped closer.
The man flinched.
“Don’t lie,” Asher said.
The scientist broke almost instantly. His voice cracked. “T-Three floors down! In the cryo wing! They’re in stasis pods—secured, I swear!”
The Knight glared at him. “Show us.”
The Venos man nodded rapidly. “Y-Yes. Yes, I’ll take you. Just… don’t hit me again.”
Asher grabbed him by the collar and shoved him forward. “Then move.”
The man stumbled, nearly tripping over broken metal parts as he led them toward a side door.
Asher and the Knight followed close behind, watching every step he took.
The Venos man’s voice was shaking. “Y-You’ll see… they’re all intact. I didn’t damage them. They’re valuable—very valuable.”
Asher spoke softly, but the anger in his voice was clear. “If any of them are hurt, you’re not walking out of this building.”
The scientist didn’t argue.
He just kept moving.
And Asher and the Knight walked behind him.
They followed him into a narrow hallway that branched off from the main lab. The walls were lined with thick cables and flickering lights, and every few seconds the building let out a low mechanical groan—like the whole place was struggling to stay alive after the fight.
The Venos man kept glancing over his shoulder, his steps weak and uneven. Sweat dripped down the side of his face.
“H-here,” he said, pointing to a metal elevator door at the end of the hall.
The Knight narrowed his eyes. “Does it actually work?”
“Y-Yes! It’s on its own power grid. I swear.”
Asher pushed past the scientist, pressed the button, and the doors slid open with a slow hiss. Inside, dim lights flickered on.
The scientist stepped in first. Asher and the Knight followed, standing close enough behind him that he couldn’t even think about running.
The elevator started moving down—one floor… two floors… The hum of the machinery echoed around them.
The Venos man rubbed his hands nervously. “I didn’t harm them. I only enhanced them. Improved their bodies. Gave them new potential.”
The Knight shot him a look sharp enough to cut steel. “You froze them like lab samples.”
“That was necessary,” the man muttered. “Stasis keeps them stable. Without it, the process is incomplete.”
Asher stared straight ahead. “We’re ending your process today.”
The elevator clunked to a stop.
The doors opened.
A wave of cold air rushed in—far colder than anything above. The hallway ahead was long, white, and foggy. Frost lined the walls. Pipes along the ceiling dripped with freezing condensation.
The Venos man pointed with a shaky hand. “T-that way… the cryo wing is at the end.”
They walked forward.
Asher stayed close enough behind the man that he could grab him in a second. The Knight scanned every doorway they passed, making sure nothing else tried to attack them.
Finally they reached a large set of reinforced doors marked:
CRYO STORAGE – LEVEL 3
AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY
The Venos man pressed his hand to the scanner. The door unlocked with a loud, heavy click and slid open.
Inside were rows of pods—large glass capsules lined in perfect formation, each one filled with cold mist. Dozens of them. Maybe more.
Small silhouettes lay inside each pod.
Children.
Some older, some younger. All unconscious. All frozen in time.
Asher’s eyes narrowed in anger.
The Knight just looked at the scene, even though it had limited emotions, but seeing such sight even it had unknown anger arising in his heart.
The Venos man stepped back, lifting his hands as if he deserved credit. “See? They’re fine. Stable. Their vitals are perfect. I took care of them.”
Asher didn’t even look at him.
He stepped toward the nearest pod, placed his hand on the cold glass, and saw a small girl inside—maybe eight years old—her breathing slow and controlled by the machine.
Her face was calm.
Too calm.
Asher exhaled, a low, controlled breath.
“They’re alive,” he said.
“Yes!” the Venos man said quickly. “See? I told you! I can release them safely. I know the system. I built everything here. If you kill me, you’ll never wake them up properly—”
Asher turned around slowly.
The Knight’s expression hardened instantly.
Asher walked back to the scientist. “You’ll release them,” he said. “All of them. Now.”
The Venos man nodded fast. “I—I will. I will. J-Just give me space to work.”
Asher pointed to the control console. “Then start.”
The man hurried over to the panel, hands shaking as he began typing commands.
The Knight leaned closer to Asher and muttered, “We’re not letting him walk free after this.”
“No,” Asher said quietly. “We’re not.”