Chapter 690: Pay the Piper! (2)

Vincent didn't lose his composure like Nelsen and said, "Why are you reacting like your daughter? Didn't I always teach you to be calm no matter the situation? I guess she got that impatience from you after all."

"Old Ghost! Do you still have a mind to joke? Just tell me, what's the matter, or is this one of your mind games?" Nelsen questioned with a dark expression, but he just knew Vincent was serious.

Vincent sighed again and said, "Well, since things are turning hectic, hiding from you will be meaningless. You have long guessed about my identity as the Star Lord of the Star Hackers, and this is one of the reasons you decided to run away back then, isn't that right?"

Nelsen's eyes narrowed. "And why are you admitting it right now?" He didn't deny Vincent's claim, and his heart became heavy.

Vincent replied with a deep tone, "Nelsen, I never intended to hide it from you to begin with. Do you think back then it was a mere coincidence that you stumbled upon my meeting with No.1?"

Nelsen's eyes winded at this moment as he suddenly thought of something, and he exclaimed, "You! You were testing me!? Do you want to see how I reacted after learning that you were the leader of the Star Hackers, the biggest criminal organization of the Unique Plain? Just what were you thinking, and why didn't you tell me or even stop me from sneaking away? Now, I'm sure you knew everything, so why?"

"If I tell you I want to test you and then recruit you into the organization as my successor as the next Star Lord, would you believe me?" Vincent questioned back, his expression impossible to read.

Nelsen thought for a moment before he shook his head, "No, I won't completely believe it. That might've been a test, but that test wasn't just simply about seeing how I react, wasn't it?"

Vincent's lips rose slightly as he nodded, "As expected of my son. Indeed, it wasn't just about seeing how you react after learning my identity; I also wanted to give you a choice—a choice to choose another path, a path different from mine.

"Although you ended up choosing that path, I was expecting a lot more to tell you the truth, and you really disappointed me. Well, I guess I'm the one to blame for it as well since I thought you were like me, who wanted to hold power to rule everything." His voice was filled with disappointment, but there was a hint of guilt hidden in it.

Nelsen's eyes dilated a little, and he coldly stated, "Since I'd disappoint you, why are we having this chat? Just what had you done? Is it related to Star Hackers? Don't tell me someone is rebelling against you and they are succeeding. If it's true, then I'm even more disappointed in you, old ghost!"

Vincent's eyes turned deadly cold as he retorted, "If that were the case, it would've been quite entreating to tell you the truth. You know, I rise from nothing, especially when our race was on the verge of annihilation because the Thunder Giants wanted our secret technique.

"I saved as many of our clansmen as I could and then hid them when everyone was searching for us like bloody hounds. Then I joined the ATLAS and climbed my way up to the rank of Star-Lord by defeating that useless, good-for-nothing idiot.

"Then I even found this place for our race to flourish; now, almost all those people who had witnessed that calamity have died, and I'm the only one alive. Those newcomers didn't even remember their past and just how much their predecessors had sacrificed for them, you included.

"However, truthfully, I don't care because my ambition wasn't just to end in the Unique Plains. I wanted to escape this backwater place and enter the ocean named the Middle Plains.

"But I'm a selfish person who didn't want to discard what I've achieved through so much effort. That's why I want to leave behind my legacy, and that's why I made you.

"However, when the time arrived, I think I got soft-hearted because you are my own flesh and blood. I knew from the start that you were different because you never had to suffer anything that I did.

"And why should you? After all, what's the meaning of having so much power if I can't even give my own son what he wants? So, I just let you do as you wish, especially after you decided to look away and abandon your birthright.

"Even after you returned with my granddaughter, you just decided to live peacefully and support your own child. You could've asked me to let you join the ATLAS since you might've thought that I was testing you.

"You even hide this information from Ellie because you knew if she finds out, she will definitely want to join it because she craves power just like her grandfather, and she doesn't want to spend her life in this barren village.

"Well, I can't blame you for it since you knew if she joined ATLAS, you wouldn't be able to help her unless you were in a high position. Knowing me, I would rather let her die than cover up for her mistakes.

"I could've also used her to make you join the ATLAS because she's your weakness but again, I didn't and leave you alone."

Vincent smiled in self-mockery because he was admitting that even something as ruthless as him couldn't bring himself to force his own flesh and blood into this inescapable quicksand.

Nelsen also felt complicated as he looked at his father. He had never seen the man like this. As far as he could remember, the Vincent he knew was ruthless and calculative. He wouldn't hesitate to push even his own child to death to achieve his own goal, but now the Vincent in front of him wasn't giving him that vibe. He just appeared to be an old man filled with regret.

"I'm asking you again: Why are you telling me all this now? If you need my help, just ask. We are family, you old fool!"

Nelsen scoffed with a somewhat warm tone, and he felt irritated seeing his father like this. After all, he might not admit it, but Vincent was still the person he respected the most in this world.

"Family..." Vincent muttered before he looked at Nelsen and smiled. His smile was warm but filled with regret, "I am telling you all this because I finally realized that the position of power that I was so reluctant to let go of and waste my life to acquire was nothing but an illusion!"

"What do you mean?" Nelsen asked with squinted eyes.

"I always thought that I was the one manipulating the chessboard named Unique Plains, but it turned out that someone else was the real player, and I am just like everyone else: a chess piece who thought he had escaped the chess board. The Star Hackers are actually..."

Vincent was about to reveal something when his expression changed. At that moment, a static voice rang in his mind.

"Star Lord, the 'Lord' has demanded an audience with you immediately! Please head to this location (197.1583.39743.24) within an hour, or you'll be deemed a traitor!"