My Tribrid System: More than a Monster

Chapter 88

The moment Van received the watch, he moved with blurring speed, seizing control of the chair and the study table in the room.

Within the blink of an eye, every single item previously resting on the desk was swept aside, clattering to the ground to make space.

In their place, a chaotic assortment of countless tools appeared—instruments Van frequently worked with, many of which the others had long ago deemed useless junk.

Ray stood tensely over Van, watching as his friend manipulated a small object that resembled a fine pin.

Van was currently, slowly, and meticulously moving the pin around the delicate seams at the back of the watch casing.

Kai, on the other hand, was letting the stress get the better of him.

He paced back and forth across the small room, his constant ramblings coming and going like a broken playlist fading in and out of focus.

”We have fifteen seconds left before our door gets burst open by soldiers trickling in and taking Ray away. Come on Van, work faster damn it!”

After a few more seconds of continuous, frantic pacing, he added: ”Ten seconds left. How much longer? Damn it!”

Ray quickly turned to glare at Kai, his patience fraying.

”Will you quiet down and let him work?! The fuck are you yapping for?”

Kai’s brows furrowed as he stared deeply back at Ray.

”Oh. Looks like you aren’t worried about being taken away by soldiers. Spread out on a table like a loaf of bread and eviscerated like a mere animal, with your organs being used to make several new techs or something.”

A few moments later, he added with a huff:

”Sorry for worrying when you aren’t even concerned.”

For some reason, hearing Kai’s graphic description caused Ray to gulp loudly.

’Being spread and cut open?’

«Hahaha~ what a chicken.»

Even though Van was currently focused intensely on the task at hand, his ears couldn’t help but pick up the grim picture Kai was painting.

Hearing what the government might do to Ray caused his heart to skip several beats in a second; even his steady hands faltered for a brief, terrifying moment.

Swiftly regaining his composure, he gripped the pin tightly and smoothly grabbed another specialized tool.

His eyes narrowed to slits as he dove back into the circuitry.

’Come on brain, work faster. This is a matter of Ray’s future. If we don’t do this, Ray will serve as an experiment for this damned world.

I... I... I can’t afford to lose my only family. So let’s work brain, let’s work! LET’S GO!’ Van roared inwardly with such immense force that something shifted and clicked inside him.

It felt like his brain froze for a moment as his vision went blank.

The next instant, a loud, metallic click rang out in the center of his mind.

It felt as though invisible cogwheels were spinning at an alarming speed, his thoughts accelerating to lightning velocity.

His eyes flashed blue almost immediately as information began downloading into his mind as if he were a high-end computer of some sort.

At that exact moment, the tools in his hands clattered onto the table as he froze.

His eyes had completely transformed, shifting from their natural bright green to a piercing, neon blue.

It was a total eye color change as he stared down at the watch.

”Five seconds left,” Kai announced, still acting like a persistent alarm clock in the background.

Instinctively, Van’s hands moved back to the watch.

He hovered them over the device’s surface for a moment.

The next second, he jerked his head backwards roughly, startling Ray, who was immediately overcome with worry.

”Va—Van? Ar—Are you alright?”

Of course, there was no reply.

Codes and strings of numbers began flashing through Van’s eyes, visible only to him for some inexplicable reason.

His heart pounded loudly in his chest while his hand remained frozen over the watch face.

Three long seconds passed before he slowly whispered, ”I—I see it now.”

”Two seconds left.”

”Pass through the octroc circle instead. Recalibrate the display circle. Now switch,”

Van muttered.

Instantly, his hand shot up; he grabbed the watch and slapped it right back onto Ray’s wrist within the blink of an eye.

”Time!” Kai shouted, only to see Van and Ray frozen in place, the watch securely fastened once more.

The two were staring into each other’s eyes like romantic love interests from a TV series or something.

”Di—Did it work?” Ray asked skeptically as he watched sweat begin beading down Van’s face.

And then...

”Huff...” Van exhaled sharply as he sat back in his chair, slumping exhaustedly against the wooden frame.

”Yeah. It did. Just twist that teeny-tiny knob on the side to switch your grade to whatever you want. Although, be careful; it can’t go higher than grade 5, nor can it go lower than grade 1.2.”

Hearing this, a profound sigh of relief flashed across Kai’s face.

He instantly slumped onto his bed as if he had been the one meticulously performing the surgery on the watch.

The cumulative stress of the day had gotten to him so deeply that his head was now softly pounding against the inside of his skull.

First, there was the hunting expedition, then the Aberrant issue, and finally, this high-stakes technical gamble.

The day’s events were actually too much to handle, and exhaustion threatened to claim him—a fate he finally allowed.

”I need sleep. Don’t disturb me, you both,” Kai muttered, and within the next second, soft snores pervaded the quiet room.

Ray blinked at the scene for a moment before turning back to face Van.

”Thank you. I never doubted your capabilities to begin with, but I was still worried. Good job, bro.”

Van flashed a tired, weak smile back at Ray as he nodded subtly.

It was evident that the stress had equally affected him, and his mental health was currently strained to the absolute limit.

”You’re welcome.”

With that, Ray breathed a final sigh of relief.

He dragged himself to his own bed, though not before carefully changing his displayed grade back to a safe level.

Collapsing onto the mattress, he exhaled again, the tension leaving his muscles.

Meanwhile, Van could be seen staring at his hands in genuine shock at what had just transpired.

’What the actual fuck happened just now? What was that? It... it felt like I was one with the techs around me for a moment. What is going on with me? How can that happen?’

This was the first time he had actually experienced something of this nature, leaving him entirely unsure of what to call it.

He paused for a moment, recalling the frantic events of the past minute over and over again.

He didn’t want to believe it, yet a single, startling conclusion was still hovering in his mind.

’Co—Could that have been an ability? Do I also have an ability? An ability to communicate with machines and techs?’