Atlas passed through the wall and into a lightless room. Thankfully, his eyesight was greatly augmented by The Error and he could see very well even in the dark.

The hideout itself wasn't too big. It was akin to a medium-sized apartment. The first thing one would see when entering was a shared living area outfitted with a plastic table and a green sofa along with some matching chairs.

Before he could investigate any further, Atlas heard a door open somewhere in the lair. Pushing himself against the wall and holding his breath, he discerned that someone was approaching the living room. Left with no other choice, Atlas went through the wall and into the room adjacent.

He suddenly found himself standing right above a man's head. But something about him seemed familiar. This was the man cleaning the tables when he walked in!

Fortunately the man was asleep. Carefully so as not to wake him up, Atlas relocated to another part of the room.

'That could have been so so SO bad.' He thought, trying to calm his heartbeat.

Strewn across the room were bracelets, necklaces and other valuable and easy to steal items. It seemed that the thieves were doing pretty well. Too bad they stole from the Steel Armor Gang.

At first, Atlas only wanted to investigate before coming back tomorrow, but after being caught off guard he decided he might as well get whatever he came here for now and run.

He started investigating every corner of the room. On the shelves, under clothes and so on. Suddenly, he felt an overwhelming sense of danger. Turning around, he saw the previously sleeping man poised to strike him.

Atlas hurriedly tried to dodge, but the blow still grazed his shoulder.

"Who are you!? How did you find this place!?" Bellowed the middle-aged man.

This was bad. At any moment now, his friend in the living room could come. Atlas decided he should try to quickly deal with this one before his friend arrived.

Using Firework Body, Atlas' strikes were on par with the man's. Every punch and kick seemed to become faster the more he attacked. This was Firework Body's main feature: stacking speed and force the more you attack. However, the man did not seem to be very affected by his attacks.

Taking advantage of an opening, his opponent started hitting back. After a haphazardly blocking a few attacks, Atlas had a moment of realization.

Instead of stopping and trying to block, why not just attack their attacks? This way, Atlas could also preserve his momentum and make full use of Firework Body.

Wanting to end this, the middle-aged man summoned a dagger Beast Soul. He wielded it at Atlas who, out of reflex summoned his primitive spear. Using it to block with one hand, he summoned a light sword in his left hand. From the sword's hilt a pink frog dangled happily.

Using all the momentum he had built up until now, Atlas stabbed the Ordinary sword at the man's chest. Combined with the Pink Frog's acidic augmentation, the man's chest gave in and the flesh around it was corroded.

The man dropped to the ground, gasping for air but failing. Before Atlas could deal the finishing strike, the door to the room was slammed open.

Liu Yanmei rushed in, dagger in hand, after hearing guttural screaming as if someone was dying. Her other hand held a candle, which lit the room. On the floor, she saw her coworker draw his last breath.

Liu Yanmei was stunned. Why was the old man she worked with dead on the floor? Who killed him? Someone was clearly just here, she could tell from the wound on his chest.

She looked around but to no avail. Somehow, the culprit had escaped.

"How am I going to explain this to the leader?!" She questioned, almost crying.

Atlas was observing Liu Yanmei's reaction from a few meters behind her. Distracted by the corpse in front of her, she hadn't noticed Atlas sneaking up on her.

'Kill her or leave her be. What should I do?' Atlas pondered. He wasn't such a cold-blooded person that he would kill her for no reason, but letting her live could put him at risk. Plus, he wouldn't be able to find the treasure he was looking for.

In the end, Atlas postponed the decision. He wanted to question her about their recent exploits and any other potential members. After that, if he thought the risk was too high he would kill her.

Atlas summoned his sword and sneakily approached her from behind. Atlas swiftly put his left hand over Liu Yanmei's mouth so she couldn't make any sounds. He had learned from his last kill. Without giving her time to think, his sword grazed her neck threateningly. Without testing it, there was no way for her to tell what rank it was. Not that it mattered, the cute frog dangling from it made sure of that.

This time, Liu Yanmei couldn't take it anymore. Tears burst from her eyes as her legs went limp. Atlas was uncomfortable in this situation so he did not drag it on longer than needed.

"Answer me and I will let you live." He said firmly. Atlas made sure to speak in short and concise sentences so that the girl could understand him even in her panicked state.

"How many members are in your group?" Atlas sat her down against the wall and pointed his sword beneath her chin.

"V-vour..." She sobbed. All fight seemed to have left her as she tried to wipe her tears with her hands.

"And where are they right now?"

"The janitor, Tang is upstairs, doing his job." The girl took a bit of time to think. Atlas couldn't tell if she was trying to talk normally or stalling.

"Yes, and the last one?" He asked impatiently. The sooner she answered his questions the sooner he could get out of here.

Before Liu Yanmei could answer, Atlas once again felt a familiar sense of doom. He impulsively summoned his Black Beetle armor before he could turn around. This reflex of his turned out to have saved his life.

As the armor covered the last of his head, a metal bat banged on his helmet, taking Atlas off balance. The blow left him dazed, in a state of confusion.

From the ground, Atlas gazed upwards at his assailant, trying to think of ways to escape despite his blurry thoughts.

"Well, you look cute. But despite my feelings my next question has to be: How did you end up here?" The feminine silhouette said standing in front of the light.