"Good." Max nodded while shifting his gaze away from her body back to her information screen.
When he saw she was a virgin, his eyes lit up.
Also...
'Forced sex, huh? That's interesting.' He thought, his lips curving up into a predatory grin.
Thankfully, Eun-Ji was looking down, otherwise the poor girl might have been scared stiff... or maybe she would have been excited instead because of her fantasy?
"How long have you been taking care of my mother, Miss Eun-Ji?" Max asked, having decided he was going to make his move on her after he had sealed the deal with his lovely Aunt Vivian.
Currently, he was in urgent need of Harem Points not only to get stronger to deal with Samuel who was hell bent on destroying the Foster Family and taking his mother away, but also to cure his mother in case he couldn't get the antidote from Samuel.
Therefore, he needed as many women as he could get because if he were to rely on just a few, it would take a long time to gather enough points and he believed he didn't have much left.
"I-It's been three-years, sir. Before it was my mother who looked after her." Eun-Ji answered, stuttering.
"I see. You and your mother have my gratitude, Miss Eun-Ji. If you ever need any help, don't hesitate to come to me." Max said sincerely.
Then, seeing she was currently afraid of him, he smiled and said, "Now, I shall take my leave." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖
Saying this, he walked away.
Phew!
After he disappeared, Eun-Ji exhaled in relief, patting her chest, and murmured, "That was... overwhelming. Also, why was he looking at me like that? Did he like me?"
"Bah! What am I thinking?" She blushed and shook her head before taking a few deep breaths and entering the room.
...
Max arrived at Robert's room and saw three middle-aged men and five boys around his age sitting there.
When he entered the room, the three men looked at him up and down, with differing emotions in their eyes while the boys stared at him with appraising and curious looks on their faces.
Max found the three men somewhat familiar, but the other five were complete strangers. Before he could ask who they were, however, Robert introduced them:
"These three are your uncles, Sarah's elder brothers. As for these kids, they are their sons. I called them over so they could meet you and we could discuss some things. As for your cousin sisters and aunts, you can meet them later."
"I understand." Max nodded before greeting them with a polite smile, "Hello everyone. It's nice to meet you all after such a long time."
Everyone returned his greetings. Then, the eldest uncle, Mark, had just opened his mouth, about to say something, when one of his cousins asked, "Did you really kill all those people?"
Mark glared at him, but the guy was completely focused on Max, so he didn't notice it, making Mark sigh and shake his head.
"Yeah. I did." Max nodded before adding with a smile, "Just don't ask how I did it. Let me keep it a secret."
Immediately, all five cousins looked disappointed. This was what they wanted to know the most.
Taking this opportunity, Mark patted the seat next to him and said, "Don't keep standing there. Come over and sit with us little Max."
"Thank you, uncle." Max walked over and took the seat.
Then, the uncles began asking all kinds of questions from how he had been, whether his family was alright, was he good in studies to whether he had any girlfriends and when was he planning to settle down.
Max couldn't help but smile wryly, but he answered all their questions even if he found some of them nonsensical because he knew they were asking all this to get to know him and eliminate the estrangement between them that had developed after not meeting for over a decade.
After a while, Robert interjected, "All right. Let's talk about the more important things now."
"Yes, father." The uncles nodded and sat up straight. The cousins also focused.
Robert swept his gaze across them, his expression solemn, and said.
"I didn't reveal it to you all before because it would have made you all unnecessarily panic and honestly... telling this to you wouldn't have changed anything."
Saying this, he looked at Max, and said, "However, with Max here, things might be different. Perhaps we can survive what is to come."
Mark and others' expressions hardened upon hearing this. From his expression and words, it seemed whatever he was going to talk about was incredibly dangerous. Even with Max, they had just a chance.
As for Max, his expression also turned serious because he realized whatever the old man was talking about wasn't Samuel Brown or the Brown family, but something else.
What he didn't know was that the old man Harman was waiting for him to return after rescuing his mother, so he could tell him the same thing Robert was going to tell now.
"You all know that all the nuclear-powered countries launched their nuclear weapons all over the world, right?" Robert began.
After they nodded, he continued, "I don't know how many people may have died in those strikes, but I do know that many more have probably died after them due to all that radiation.
Moreover, this isn't the end because the amount of radiation those weapons have produced is enough to cover the world."
Immediately, everyone's expressions turned grim.
"Yes, that's correct. The radiation will soon cover the entire world and this country won't be spared either." Robert said, "If my estimate isn't wrong, in at most a week, the radiation clouds will cover our skies, the sea water will become polluted and the radiation will contaminate the ground water too."
Hearing this, the five cousins shuddered and their fathers clenched their fists in agitation. It was a sure death. How could they stay calm?
In the room, only two people were calm—Robert and Max. The old man couldn't help but praise his mental fortitude in his heart.
"D-Doesn't this mean we all will die?" Mark's son, Sunny, asked in a deep voice that he used to mask his fear and agitation.
Robert looked at his sons and grandsons, a hint of disappointment flashing in his eyes. But then he sighed inwardly and to their surprise, shook his head, "Not all."
"What do you mean, father?" Peter, Robert's second son, asked.
"Do you three remember everything I told you about the history of this world? How there was Mana present in the atmosphere and people could become strong using it?" Robert asked.
The three brothers nodded while their sons' eyes widened and their mouths fell open in surprise.
Seeing this, Max realized they were just like him—had no clue about the buried secrets. Though he wondered if they had learned martial arts.
'They probably have.' He thought.
"From everything I know about the history and those powerful organizations and family clans, since they let or it might be more accurate to say that since they unleashed those nuclear bombs, destroyed the established status quo and killed so many people, they didn't do it without any purpose."
Saying this, he paused for a moment, took a deep breath and said, his eyes lighting up, "And if I'm not wrong, that purpose was to make... Mana reappear."
There was a stunned silence in the room—No one had expected him to say this, not even Max, let alone his uncles or the cousins who had just found out that Mana, the mystical energy they had only read or heard about in fictional works, had indeed existed in their world.
A few moments passed as everyone digested the news.
Several thoughts flashed in Max's mind during these few moments. In the end, he asked, "Why do you think so, Grandfather?"
"Because when I was a kid, I had read a half-destroyed family record which talked about what could be the possible reasons behind the sudden disappearance of the Mana." Robert said.
Then, he added, "While whoever had written that wasn't sure about his hypotheses, and I don't know if any of them is true, he mentioned something that stuck with me."
Here, Robert took a pause and leaned back into the sofa before slowly saying, "He wrote that 'Perhaps one day, just like it had suddenly disappeared, it would reappear too.'"
"On the day the nukes were launched, I had suddenly recalled it and the more I thought about it, the more I felt that this might indeed be true. Otherwise, like I said before, why would those people do something so drastic?"
"I see." Max nodded, not making any comment on the topic because he lacked information.
"Grandpa, what will happen when Mana reappears, will we be really able to use those magical techniques and do all that impossible stuff?" Alex, the youngest among the five sons of Max's uncles, asked, excitement clear on his face.
"We'll talk about that later." Peter said before looking at Robert and saying, "Please continue, Father." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶
Robert nodded and said, "So, if my guess is correct. When Mana reappears, people will undergo an awakening.
Then, they will be able to sense the existence of Mana and will be able to harness it. At that time, these Awakened ones wouldn't need to worry about dying to the radiation. This was why I said that not everyone will die."
"But father, it is a speculation after all is said and done, so the chances are that it might be wrong and there won't be a reappearance of mana." Robert's youngest son, Evans, said with a frown on his face.
He then asked, "But let's say it did. Will all of us be able to undergo the awakening?"
Immediately, everyone tensed once more because his words made sense. They focused their nervous and hopeful gazes on Robert, hoping for him to say yes.
However...
Robert shook his head, and in a neutral voice, he said, "No. It will not be everyone. Only those who are naturally attuned to Mana or are really lucky will awaken."
After saying this, he looked at his sons and grandsons. With the exception of Max, everyone looked as if they had heard a death sentence and were losing their composure.
Inwardly sighing, he looked at his sons and coldly snorted, "Why the long faces? Have you forgotten which family's blood flows through your veins?"
While Sunny and others were at a loss, Mark, Peter and Evans' eyes lit up.
"Father, you mean..."
Robert nodded, "Even though our bloodline has thinned out over the course of 10,000 years, our Foster Family's descendants should still fall into the first category since our ancestors were very powerful beings. So, more likely than not, all of you will awaken."
The trio exhaled in relief while their sons' faces showed excitement.
But before they could enjoy the moment, Evans suddenly frowned and asked, "Father, if it is as you said, I understand that we stand a pretty good chance at awakening, but what about their mothers...? They are not of the Foster Family..."
Mark and Peter's expressions hardened at his words. This was right. While they and their kids could probably awaken and survive, their wives might not.
Sunny and others' excitement also vanished and they became anxious. Like all the sons, they loved their mothers and didn't want them to die.
In response to this question, Robert sighed which immediately made their expressions ugly.
But right then...
"Though I understand that you guys have felt a rollercoaster of emotions since I began speaking and it may have affected your judgement a little, but... have you really lost your minds completely? Don't you remember what I said in the beginning?"
Robert coldly swept his gaze across his sons. While he always knew they weren't too bright, with Max sitting here to compare them with, he was finding them even more disappointing.
"Huh?" Mark and his brothers raised their brows in incomprehension, but then they remembered that this conversation had begun with Max being the key factor.
Feeling embarrassed, they lowered their heads, not daring to meet their father's gaze.
Robert didn't speak and as the silence stretched the trio felt even more embarrassed. In fact, their sons were feeling the same. Thankfully, though, the old man wasn't blaming them.
After a while, Max could no longer bear to watch this drama continue, so he broke the silence, "Grandfather, why don't you continue and tell me how I can help you?"
He was really curious about it.
Why did the old man believe that he could resolve the situation?
Well, he could do it and it won't be too difficult as he only had to give them the anti-radiation potions, but Robert didn't know about it. So, what was the basis of his confidence?
"Alright." Robert nodded, stood up and walked over to one of the walls of the room.
Then under everyone's curious and surprised gazes, he tapped several places on the wall.
Click!
Soon, a crisp click sounded and a section of the wall was pushed out.
Robert slid this section to the side, revealing a password protected metal safe.
After he keyed in the password, he turned the knob and opened it, but they couldn't see what was inside which only served to make them more curious.
A few moments later, after locking the safe and pushing the wall section back into place, Robert walked back, sat down and...
Tap!
Placed an ancient-looking, small pentagon-shaped, golden plaque on the table.