"We are a doomsday squad that formed just a year ago," Whitney continues. "Currently, we have five members, but we need one more."
Just like the Infinite Life Simulation showed, posing as someone with prophetic abilities worked like a charm. It successfully caught the doomsday squad's attention.
But why's Whitney specifically pointing out they're missing a member?
Could it be...?
"Bertram, those occasional special information fragments you see, we've verified them. There's over a 90% chance you possess prophetic abilities."
Bertram already called out the culprit behind his sister's kidnapping and her exact location.
Even the Olson Family tore their hair out searching for a long time and came up empty.
"Am I really someone with prophetic abilities?" Bertram plays dumb, scrunching up his face.
"You don't need to doubt it. We looked into your background, ordinary parents, you've lived a normal life for over a decade. But prophetic abilities are weird like that. They can pop up in anyone randomly."
"The past three people with prophetic abilities proved that."
"So," Whitney says, "our doomsday squad wants to invite you to join us. Become one of our members."
"Join you?" This time, Bertram's genuinely rattled.
Sure, he figured the doomsday squad had their eyes on him. But asking him to join? Never saw that coming.
Thinking about it, the doomsday squad members are the most talented geniuses in the human world.
Just look at Whitney's team composition. All A-level talents.
Lowest cultivation level? C+.
And here he is, a lowly F+ rank.
"I'm only F+ rank. Joining you guys..." Bertram lets the implication hang. Going on missions with them?
That's a death sentence.
"Don't worry about dragging us down," Tristian cuts in, already feeling some warmth toward this kid he just met.
Bertram hasn't even joined yet, and he's already thinking about the team's well-being.
"Our team's actually pretty well-rounded. I handle frontline combat. Whitney provides support. Tevin's our assassin. Ryder takes care of reconnaissance and crowd control, he's also our medic. Tabitha offers long-range firepower. We cover both physical and energy damage. Adding another member with similar abilities wouldn't really improve our team."
"So this last spot? It's basically extra. And your prophecy ability is unique. It could massively boost our team's effectiveness in unexpected ways."
"Truth is, you're the best choice for this position."
"Plus, to keep you safe, we won't take you on missions. Your prophecy ability works best when it's about people you know. So if you become one of us, and we're constantly in your life, it'll increase your chances of seeing information about us. Just share those prophecies when you have them."
"Bottom line... don't worry about your rank holding us back. We won't throw you into combat. You'll just stay at base and be our team's good luck charm."
"That's a relief," Bertram exhales, playing along. "I was really worried my low rank would drag you down."
No missions means no life-threatening situations. Isn't this exactly the kind of cushy gig he wanted?
This good luck charm role... Yeah, I'm definitely taking it.
Thanks to their mental connection, Bertram's thoughts seem to broadcast straight to the Seven-Star Phantom Death Butterfly tucked in his arms.
Dina sends back a faint pulse of pure disdain toward her father.
Bertram quickly starts telepathically coaching Dina, trying to explain his reasoning.
"Dina, whether you're a person or a butterfly, you gotta stay humble. Today's humility buys tomorrow's greatness! Doesn't matter if you're human or butterfly, long as you're alive, your day will come."
After a round of psychological counseling, Dina starts to deeply realize her mistakes. She thinks of Bertram with pure admiration shining in her little bug eyes.
Bertram lets out a small sigh of relief. After all, Dina's mind is still as naive as a child's. Makes her easy to fool.
"Since you've got no objections, I'll report it to the organization," Tristian says with a smile. "All new members of the Doomsday Squad go through a one-month evaluation period. But considering your special situation, long as you make one successful prophecy within this month, you're in."
The fact that their squad locked down someone with prophecy abilities? Bet the other Doomsday Squads are green with envy.
"Have you had any other prophecies recently?" Tristian asks, almost casually.
"Yes!"
Oh, there's plenty.
Bertram's mind flashes back to the scenes getting shot by the Jackson Family's young master. Now is the time for him to flip the damn table.
---
Outskirts of the city, at the coal factory.
"Damn it! Why did my flawless plan fall apart?" The young master of the Jackson Family, decked out in white, looks seriously pissed off.
Everyone around him stays dead silent, too scared to poke the bear.
Otherwise they're getting thrown into the Jackson Family's crocodile pit.
"One B-level, three C-levels, and fourteen D-levels, all dead in an instant. And Vanessa got hauled back to the Olson Family. Only the Olson Family could pull off something like this."
"Who leaked this to the Olson Family?" The young master's eyes practically shoot flames.
What makes it even worse is that after analyzing the situation forever, he still can't figure out who the informant could be.
The only people who knew about this were the guards at the underground coal plant and himself.
All those guards are dead now.
After all that thinking, it's like the informant is... himself?
The whole plan's failure seems to hinge on these informants. It's got the young master of the Jackson Family absolutely fuming at traitors.
Since he can't catch the one who leaked info about the underground coal plant, he'll start by grabbing that student who reported it. Vent his anger that way.
The young master of the Jackson Family stares toward the end of the road.
By now, they should've driven that student here.
Slowly, he spots a figure appearing at the corner.
The figure's pretty damn burly.
---
Bertram thinks it's a shame.
After all, the young master of the Jackson Family is still the heir of an elite powerful family. Even the Doomsday Squad can't just whack this guy, they can only teach him a lesson.
Unless they catch him doing something that genuinely hurts humanity. Then maybe. Otherwise not much they can do.
In the apocalypse, unity among humans is the main theme. No one can openly go against that.
What happens in the shadows, though... that's a different story.
Even the young master of the Jackson Family has to lure Bertram, some ordinary nobody, outside the city if he wanted him dead.
Right now, another problem's brewing.
The officer. Jack. The one Bertram killed in that alley last night.
Bertram has no clue about any of this. He's on his way to the martial arts gym to meet that mysterious girl.