Curse The Mainframe! 462 Cookie Sec

Katherine's group was going to be spreading false rumours about what happened in the forest here with the death soldiers, before moving on to see the general situation while Alec and his group were going to try and get as much information as possible.

Unfortunately, this realm did not contain the Cookie Sect. Otherwise, he would be able to obtain much more comprehensive information.

Alec wanted to find another information group or guild that dealt with information in this realm. First, they had to be trustworthy and not leak information back that he was looking at the Evans Sect.

However, it would probably be hard. The Evans' Sect reputation and widespread reach was something that would be hard to defend against.

But just by being around Klyse, who was 'resurrected', they already put a target on their back. In this case, they should do some damage control or strike back first.

Alec nodded at Katherine goodbye, ignoring her reluctant look.

Jae and Brian were out of his hands, and they only seemed to want to listen to Katherine's commands. If he took either of them, no doubt that they would end up pining without being able to contribute anything.

Also, well… Alec wasn't completely heartless. Katherine may or may not experience something else other than training if she hung out with the two of them more. How far it went, however, was up to them completely.

Honestly, the best thing would be for them to just ditch the two 'lovebirds', but Katherine was softer than she looked, and she said that she would take them despite the obvious reluctance on her part, which told Alec that she at least had some bare minimum of feelings for the two. 

Alec's group made their way to the nearby city, eliminating any trails that they had left throughout their forest escape.

Then, they gathered some supplies and moved onwards to another town.

In the next town, suddenly, someone caught Alec's eye in the crowd. His eyes widened minutely as he thought he caught sight of a familiar face.

The person had already pa.s.sed him, but that person had slipped something into his hand as he brushed by.

He thought back about that person's face, trying to remember where he met that person before recalling.

His eyes flashed, and he didn't give anything away. Who knew if anyone was watching them right now?

He slipped his hand into his pocket before trailing behind the rest of his group.

Surprisingly, Le Xuan was doing rather well. She was calmer than he expected, and there was a light of determination that filled her eyes that weren't there before. It was likely that she had some sort of enlightenment yesterday when they were paying their respects to the death soldiers.

Previously, she had mostly been coasting along life without having any goals other than finding a boyfriend, but now, it seemed that there was something to push her forward.

Alec looked at Klyse, who was still sitting on her shoulder, and he felt that Katherine had made the right call previously.

Klyse Evans wasn't a good person, but neither was he a bad person. People weren't so black and white, falling into shades of grey.

Klyse was the kind of person that fit perfectly in the middle, aligned with both sides.

If it suited him, he could commit all kinds of atrocities, but on the other hand, when he was kind, he truly went all the way.

They had only interacted for a short while, but Alec could already tell what kind of person he was. He gave away a lot in his unguarded moments.

The group got two rooms in an inn near the middle of the city, and they split up to obtain various things while they were in town.

While he was alone, Alec opened the note that had been pa.s.sed to him and raised a brow.

There were only the meeting location and the time. He checked the time, and he realized that they were supposed to meet in half an hour.

Thinking about it, he went there early to scope the place out first.

The place was another inn in the city that was converted into a pub at night.

It wasn't anything high-cla.s.s, but it wasn't doing too badly either. During the day, there were a lot of people ordering food and eating lunch.

It appeared like the stereotypical building in the city and didn't appear out of place at all. The people coming and going all seemed like foreigners who were visiting this place. Other than that, there were those who seemed like they had come to the inn just to grab a bite to eat.

Alec entered, and he immediately found the person he found so familiar. But he didn't make his way there immediately. Instead, he looked at how he the person that he was here to meet observed the people around him, as well as the calm and smooth way that he carried himself.

It was a far cry from the sorry state he had been in previously.

Now, Mason Woods seemed far more settled.

But why was he in this realm?

And how had he managed to find Alec so quickly?

Alec took note of the various escape routes before he made his way over to Mason.

The other man looked largely the same, but there was a bit of makeup on his face that made him appear more forgettable to the crowd, which was different from Alec's eye-catching looks.

Alec sat down on the bench, Mason across him.

Mason smiled faintly. "Alec," he said, studying the man.

Alec likewise studied him back. "You're looking well."

Mason's smile widened. "Indeed. But I'm not just looking around. I'm here on business."

"What business?"

"Well," Mason drawled, his smile widening, "I seem to have joined a sect."

Alec raised a brow.

"It's called the Cookie Sect. I'm sure you've heard of it."

Alec was surprised. Mason had joined the Cookie Sect?

The news came as a surprise to him, but he wasn't overly surprised. After all, it wasn't like he was in charge of matters over in the sect. All he had was just a co-founder in name. He enjoyed the benefits but didn't contribute anything other than manpower and money.

Alec's lips ticked up briefly before smoothening out into his normal smile.

"Are you planning on opening another Cookie Sect here in this realm?"

"Planning?" Mason raised a brow. "No, we aren't planning. It's already started. And we've already spread quite far."

"How far?"

Mason smiled faintly, not answering. But the look in his eyes said everything.

Despite himself, Alec really had to admire Hong Jun's capabilities in choosing the people who joined the Cookie Sect. Even though it had already grown so big and so fast, the people still remained loyal to a cause.

Information gathering.

Just managing his Spectres alone already gave him a headache – perhaps because they were mostly Sins.

Getting them to work together was no easy feat.

"So, what information are you looking for?" Mason asked, and he finished off the pint of beer in front of him before standing up.

Alec did the same.

The two of them walked out of the place before heading nearby.

"We shouldn't speak outside."

They stopped in front of a very familiar looking store. The storefront was the same as the others back in his realm. Alec's lips twitched.

Mason pushed the door open, and the door chimed.

He spread his arms out. "Welcome to the Cookie Sect."