Chapter 52: 52. I Need To Maxed Out A Lot Of Woman To Get More Desire Energy~!

He set the phone down and lay back.

’First maximum bond as Mike Hawk,’ he thought. ’In a city I’ve been in for almost two weeks."

"In an apartment above the woman, I just maxed out. While her husband sleeps downstairs, he believes everything is normal.’

He thought about Erik Voss. This was his first identity outside of his home country.

He had been twenty-two and considerably less careful, and Erik Voss had lasted four months before becoming a liability. He had learned a lot in those four months, most of it the hard way.

He thought about Jin Mao, which had been a better construction, lasting eleven months and ending not because of any mistake on his part but because of circumstances that had nothing to do with him and everything to do with someone else’s bad decisions catching him in proximity.

He thought about the others, each one better than the last, each one a refinement of the lesson that identity was craft, and craft improved with practice.

’Mike Hawk is the best one,’ he thought. ’By a significant margin. Not because of the documentation, but the system handled that part, and the system is, apparently, not joking about anything. But because of who Mike Hawk is.’

’Mike Hawk is me. Just the parts I like.’

’The parts that walk into a room and don’t explain themselves.’

’The parts that bring a flower to a front desk, simply because why not?’

’The parts that sit in a seminar, say one thing, and watch the whole room recalibrate.’ He paused on that thought. ’The parts that don’t rush. The parts that wait.’

’That was always me. I just didn’t always have the space to be it.’

He heard the city outside beginning its shift from five AM quiet to six AM activity. The particular change in ambient sound meant delivery vehicles and early commuters and the first of the day’s foot traffic starting to move.

Petricia was still asleep.

He looked at her again. This time, he took a proper look at her instead of making the quick assessment he usually did with everyone.

"Forty-one years old," he thought. "Married for nine years. Building manager for six."

"She makes sound decisions under pressure, as evidenced by her handling of the building inspection without any prior notice."

"She’s smart enough to realize she’s been unhappy for a while, but not yet wise enough to figure out how to address it."

’She’ll figure it out,’ he thought. ’People usually do when something makes them start looking.’

’I may have made her start looking... Well, that’s not nothing.’

He picked the phone back up and glanced at the account balance once more: one hundred thousand Dollah. This was in addition to what he already had. Plus, the Shapeshift skill now appeared in his ability list, like a door that had just been unlocked.

’Okay,’ he thought. ’Let’s think about this properly while checking on the other woman I’ve met...’

’Madison Reed... twenty out of a hundred. This approach is a leverage-based start.’

’She’s frustrated and conscious of her feelings toward me, which is a positive sign. The anger she feels is not an issue; it indicates that she is engaged. Indifference would actually be a greater concern.’

’Maya Laurent... three out of a hundred. The system consistently highlights her natural build as being different from the leverage-based type.’

’She’s in a relationship that makes her happy, which means my approach must be entirely different. It needs to be slower and more lateral.’

’Unlike Petricia, who decided all at once and crossed the room, Maya will arrive at something in her own way, if she arrives at all.’

’Haruka Kanata... twenty-two out of a hundred. Now, she’s the most interesting one because she is the most open.’

"She expresses her thoughts openly, revealing things that others tend to conceal. She misses Ren and desires a match like the one Ellie and Stanley share.’

’She finds me steady and good-looking, stating both of those directly to my face on a transit car without any sign of embarrassment." He reflected on this for a moment. "That’s quite uncommon.’

’Most people are aware of others’ feelings and manage that knowledge carefully. Haruka, however, simply shares her thoughts."

’Handle carefully,’ he thought. ’The system said it, and the system was right.’

’Her openness is not the same as vulnerability, so I’ll make sure that I don’t confuse them.’

’But eh... I’ll manage with my experience anyway.’

’And now... about Ellie Harper,’ he thought, which was a different kind of thought from the others. ’I didn’t know that I could meet with my childhood friend, who was so clingy to me.’ 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

’She’s eleven years in a relationship with Stanley, and it seems like it’s healthy because they saved the parts for marriage, which is fucking dumb.’ Mike sighed. "She’s an architecture student...’

’She looks at me like she’s checking a database she compiled when we were kids and finding some entries match and others don’t.’

’She’s going to be complicated,’ he thought. ’Not in the same way as Madison, but differently complicated.’

’The kind of complicated that comes from history, but I’ll make sure to give a lot of bait for her to see if she’s still obsessed with me just like last time.’

He put the phone down again.

He lay in the quiet apartment and thought about Erosyne, which he had been in for two weeks and which had already given him more than most cities gave in six months.

"New city. New name. New body if necessary." He glanced at the ceiling once more. "A clean slate."

’Let’s not waste it.’

He got up carefully, so as not to wake Petricia, and went to the window.

The city was starting. Below on the street, the first vendor cart was rolling into position.

The sky held a specific grey-blue hue, characteristic of a morning that had yet to fully embrace the sunlight. Somewhere down the block, a shutter was being opened.

Erosyne, five fifty-three AM. Engaging in its unceremonious, everyday routine.

Mike watched it for a while.

Then he went to the desk, opened the assigned reading for Thursday’s seminar, and started working.

Behind him, Petricia slept.

The city got louder by degrees.

It was going to be a good Wednesday.

’Just when I was about to work on it... my body is still feeling sluggish.’ Mike leaves his desk just to jump towards the bed again. ’For now... I’m going doomscrolling, babyyyy~!’

He was being loud about it, and then Petricia stirred.

She woke up as she did most things: with immediate awareness and no gradual surfacing. She blinked once, registered her surroundings and the person beside her, and then went very still, as if weighing her feelings about a situation she had already chosen to enter.

"Ahhh...!"

Mike was propped up against the headboard, phone in hand, observing her with the relaxed focus of someone who had been awake for some time. "What was that for? Don’t be startled by someone who just filled you."

"Mike... o-ohh yeah... I forgot..." She blushed.

"G-good morning," Petricia said, which was the most composed possible opening under the circumstances.

"Morning," he said.

She sat up slowly, holding the sheet to cover her naked body, and looked at the window. The light was still the early gray kind.

"What time is it?"

"Just past five."

"Oh no..." she exhaled. "Gerald wakes up at six-thirty."

"I know," Mike said.

"I need to—"

"You have time," Mike said.

She looked at him. The morning light did something different to her face than the afternoon or evening versions of it.

She appeared more youthful and less composed, resembling a version of herself that predated the building, the paperwork, and the nine years.

"You look very calm," she said.

"I usually do," Mike said.

"Is that not strange to you? That I’m—" She gestured at the general situation. "That this happened?"

"Nothing strange about it," Mike said. "You made a decision, and of course every woman with desire is allowed to make decisions."

She was quiet for a moment, turning that over. "You always do that."

"What?"

"Make it sound simple." She wasn’t complaining exactly, more like noting a phenomenon she was still getting used to. "Other people would have a lot more to say about this."

"Other people aren’t me," Mike said.

"I’m just built different."