NOVEL NEXT Chapter 79: The Inspector's Plan
Thirty or so minutes later, the portal opened for the Primers, and they began walking in one by one.
Because of his massive frame, Dmitri drew attention from the crowd. Those who recognized him were surprised to see him there. He was a well-known Primer. Most Primers with the ability to enter Yellow-ranked Fissures and above were basically celebrities. Still, their fame varied—some Yellow Primers were barely known, while others had popularity that rivaled higher ranks.
Not every strong Primer was famous, but Dmitri was widely recognized—not just for his strength or towering size, but for the organization he created.
Dmitri ran a gang with a degree of influence in the city. This fact was mostly known among Primers and a few others, often dismissed as rumors—but most believed it was true. And even if it was true, the city didn't seem to be doing anything about it. That made people theorize all kinds of reasons.
But those with a bit of common sense knew the truth: Dmitri was able to walk free because of his "influence." The kind of influence that kept the city from even thinking about arresting him.
It was common, after all—most cities had some level of corruption, and Hury was no different.
Dmitri's subordinates walked around with puffed chests and smug faces. They looked at the surrounding Primers with mocking grins. Some even deliberately provoked others, clearly looking for trouble before stepping into the Fissure.
"What are you looking at, huh?! You want me to shove my fist down your throat?!" Kevin barked at a Primer who had happened to glance in his direction.
The Primer was startled, and when he recognized the mafia boss, fear immediately took hold. All he could do was lower his head.
"That's what I thought. Cower in fear," Kevin sneered, the thrill of standing above others making his heart race.
The others followed suit, while the surrounding Primers could only grit their teeth in frustration.
However, not everyone was afraid. Some smiled at the gang in a challenging way. The gang, of course, wisely avoided provoking those people—they knew exactly who they shouldn't mess with.
One by one, Dmitri and his subordinates entered the Blue Fissure, leaving the rest of the gang members behind.
Before long, all the registered Primers had disappeared into the portal, leaving the gang members outside to idle—some chose to explore the area, others lay down for a nap.
Seeing this, the inspector finally relaxed, leaning back comfortably in his chair. His eyes glanced over at the white-coated personnel running tests nearby. "It's your turn."
The inspector's job was to record the Primers entering the Fissure and deny access to those unqualified. He was also responsible for updating the data on their Status Bands once they completed the Fissure.
And that was just part of the job—afterward, there was paperwork to complete. Once their assignment ended, inspectors were relocated to another area to do the same thing all over again.
The white-coated individuals, on the other hand, were responsible for monitoring the portal's condition—making sure the Fissure remained stable and preventing Breakouts. They also watched for anomalies. If anything strange happened, they were the first to try and fix it. And if the situation got worse, they were the first to raise the alarm and alert everyone that something was going wrong with the Fissure.
Then came the position of the guards. They were responsible for the safety and order among the Primers. If a Primer did something that might endanger the Fissure personnel, the guards had the authority to remove that person—and even open fire if they refused to comply.
The Inspector, the white-coated scientists, and the guards were the ones overseeing a Fissure, making sure everything was in order and nothing went wrong.
After glancing over at the scientists, the Inspector smiled, propped his feet up on the desk—causing the holographic panels to flicker—and then rested both hands behind his head. He closed his eyes, intending to catch some sleep.
But just as he was about to drift off into dreamland, a loud knocking sound snapped him awake.
Startled, he nearly fell backward in his chair. After flailing his arms for a few seconds, he managed to steady himself—barely.
Breathing heavily from the near-embarrassing fall, the Inspector glared at the person in front of him, eyes wide with irritation.
"Don't you know how to wake someone up gently?!" the Inspector barked, his voice full of frustration.
"Would you have woken up if I did?" Kael asked, one brow raised. Then, as if to prove his point, he began to whisper, "Wake up. Wake up. I want to enter this Fissure. Wake up."
His words were so soft they might as well have been from a mosquito.
"You…" The Inspector's forehead throbbed as veins bulged. He clenched his teeth. "Are you messing with me?!"
"No, just proving a point," Kael said, shaking his head calmly.
"A point?! What point?! That you're a d*ck?!"
"Be a good person who doesn't use foul language. Can you do that?" Kael asked, expression deadpan.
The Inspector froze, stunned. And when he saw the smirk on the man's face, he realized he was being mocked. He was just about to snap when Kael raised a hand to stop him.
"Let's talk about why I'm here," Kael said.
"No need. You want to enter this Fissure? Sorry—you can't. And even if you had arrived early, I still would've denied you. Now go, and don't show your face around me again," the Inspector replied, waving his hand dismissively like he was shooing a fly.
Though he wasn't a Primer himself, his title and position as a Fissure Inspector gave him authority over some of them—unless, of course, he encountered an influential figure like Dmitri, who could have him killed with a single word to his subordinates.
"I see," Kael sighed, shaking his head in mock disappointment. "That's a pity. I was hoping to enter and teach that Dmitri guy a lesson. Guess I'll have to do it another time."
Kael turned away, but before he could take more than a few steps, the Inspector suddenly called out, making a grin tug at Kael's lips.
"Wait!" the Inspector said.
"Why?" Kael turned around with confusion written across his face, tilting his head slightly as he stared at the Inspector.
"You want to teach Dmitri a lesson?" the Inspector asked, just to confirm. His eyes glinted with dangerous excitement.
"Yes," Kael nodded. "I want to beat his ass and stomp on his face."
"Oh, why didn't you say so?" The Inspector grinned, his earlier irritation vanishing as if it never existed. Inside, he was gloating, practically trembling with anticipation. "Come on, let's register your band. You're good to go."
"Ah, that's great," Kael smiled, walking toward the desk as he showed his Status Band.
The Inspector scanned it, and the moment he saw the level, his eyes widened in surprise. "You're only at Level 12?"
"Yes. Is that a problem?"
The Inspector frowned. The required level to enter a Blue Fissure was 20 and above, but the annoying man standing before him was only Level 12—eight levels short of qualifying.
Officially, he wasn't allowed to let someone like Kael enter the Blue Fissure… but that requirement only applied to the Government, specifically the Primer's Association. As far as the Fissure itself was concerned, anyone could enter, regardless of their level.
The Inspector wanted Kael to go in—he wanted payback for being disrespected and rudely woken from a beautiful dream.
But if he was going to do it without getting himself into trouble... His frown deepened, then slowly eased into a smile as an idea formed.
Wearing nothing but basic clothes, this guy was clearly asking for death if he thought he could mess with Dmitri. Heck, with a level that low, he probably wouldn't even make it past the safe zone, the Inspector thought. His eyes glinted as the perfect solution took shape.
"No, don't worry. There's no problem at all," the Inspector said smoothly, swiping through the holograms before pointing toward the Fissure. "You can go inside now. Be safe, and hopefully, you'll be able to punch that guy."
"Haha, I will," Kael said with a nod, then 'happily' walked toward the Fissure.
Staring at the man's back, the Inspector smirked, killing intent radiating from his body. Hmph. This is what you get for offending me. Die inside.
He didn't record Kael's entry. He didn't even ask for his name. The Inspector just let a no-suit Primer walk in without any data logged. If he had entered Kael's info, the System would've flagged it as an anomaly, and he'd definitely lose his job for letting someone under the level requirement through.
But with no record—and if this lunatic died inside—no one would suspect a thing.
It was a tactic some Inspectors used to deal with uppity Primers who thought that just having a Status Band meant they could challenge authority.
Inspectors had power over some Primers, and they weren't about to let those beneath them speak or act out of line. This particular Inspector was one of those people—and he hated being woken up or mocked, unless it was by a real powerhouse, someone even the Government would think twice before touching.
Meanwhile, as Kael approached the Fissure, a cold smirk formed on his face.
He knew exactly what the Inspector had done—he'd already learned the proper procedure for entering a Fissure. The man hadn't recorded anything into the System and seemed even more eager than Kael for him to go through. On top of that, Kael could feel the killing intent pouring off him.
Clearly, he was being led straight to death's door.
But Kael was confident he could get what he came for. That didn't mean he was going to let the Inspector off the hook. He was already thinking of ways to deal with him.
And as those thoughts brewed, he stepped into the portal—only for myriads of lights to flood his vision.
Ever since he woke up after being sealed in ice for a hundred years, this was the second time he was entering a Fissure—and this time, it was a Blue-rated one, far more challenging than a Grey.
As the myriad of lights flooded his vision, he felt his body being lifted.
Then, his sense of direction vanished and went haywire. One moment, it felt like gravity was pulling him from above, and the next, from his sides. The sensation lasted only a few seconds before all the light was swallowed by darkness.