There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL) novel Chapter 251

Chapter 251: Chapter 244. Out of the Bag

[The Truth Behind Trinity’s ’Valiant’ Guide]

Zein raised his brow. What the hell is this--was his first reaction. What truth? What ’valiant’? And then he started to read while Jock guided him to walk toward the car.

His brow stayed arched the whole way. The article came from a pretty big news media, and it was written well, unlike the gossip and rumors circulated before. It talked, first, about Zein’s journey while he was in Trinity; the new concept of strike guide, the survival textbook, and the ’speech’ he made in the guide conference. The writer showed what kind of image Zein had in public from his few appearances.

And then they dropped the bomb.

[...but recently, we received disturbing evidence about this elusive guide’s past. It might allude as to why Trinity kept the guide’s mysterious past guarded, and limited his movement outside the formal setting. After all, a big name like Trinity and Mortix would be careful to hide the fact that they employ someone who used to work for a rogue guild...]

Ah...Zein scrolled the news, and the article continued by explaining what was a rogue guild and their heinous crime. It told the reader about Umbra and what they did in Araka--effectively, painted Zein as someone who also did that kind of thing.

It ended in an essay questioning the validation behind Zein’s moral preaching and so on and so forth.

Which was funny because Zein never felt he was preaching about anything.

"Well, we can’t say it’s a lie," Zein shrugged, letting Alma, who had been reading behind him, had the tablet.

Zach frowned at the guide’s nonchalant reaction. "It’s not a lie, but it’s manipulating the truth."

"Look at this! Where in this article had they ever said why you ended up in Umbra? They didn’t write about how you are under a slave contract!" Alma yelled angrily. "They didn’t write about how you are sold there when you’re just ten by your father--"

"He’s NOT my father."

The blue eyes glared sharply at the berserker, the low voice filled with anger and pain that prompted the others to pause, all staring at him in silence. Jock looked at the guide in surprise--not because of the sudden anger, but because it was his first time hearing about Zein being sold. Naomi, who already heard about it during their first dinner in the Borderland, was once again being reminded of the harsh life Zein had to go through before.

"Don’t refer to that bastard as such--I know who my real father is," Zein added after taking a breath, in a calmer tone this time.

"Uhh, yeah...sorry," Alma scratched her neck awkwardly.

"The point is, they made it as if you were willingly volunteering to be a part of Umbra," Zach, who now had the tablet and was reading the article, steered the conversation back.

"They use it to paint you as a hypocrite and discredit your speech during the guide conference," Jock added after he managed his face again, back to the expressionless bodyguard.

Zein could see that. But for him personally, he didn’t say all of that to hope for any change, or to make people more aware of the real situation. He merely vented out his frustration, so whether or not people would take his words seriously wasn’t important to him.

But Radia said what he delivered during the guide conference might leave a good impression on the committee. In that case, wouldn’t discredit his speech change this impression now?

"What did Radia say?" Zein asked as Jock opened the car’s door.

"That you have to get out of here fast because journalists might come here now to see if the claim is true," Jock said, holding the door open. "Unless you want to be swarmed by reporters, of course."

"Ugh--"

That was definitely not what Zein would have wanted. There was nothing he wanted to say or clarify anyway. But he did worry that this would put Trinity’s chance of winning the reclamation project in jeopardy.

Naomi, who was now getting her tablet back, straightened her back. Her countenance was back to the prim and proper representative of Mortix she was supposed to be. "Do you think it’s possible for all the people here to pretend Sir Zein was never here?" she asked the Scarlet Moon in a business tone.

"No," Zach shook his head, although he said it with regret. "Being a Landlord doesn’t mean we have complete control over everyone--the civilians, maybe, but the espers would be tough."

Despite the name, being the Landlord only meant they were the caretakers of the Area. Even Umbra, which ruled with a dictatorship, couldn’t completely control the powerful group like Scarlet Moon before. The mercenary groups still held their own influence within their block, and even the individual espers wouldn’t like it if their right to their voice and opinion was withheld.

"That being said, we can at least try to get the story straight," Zach offer a consolation. "We can’t lie about Zen being involved with Umbra, but we can tell the real story behind it."

"I think any old dwellers would be able to tell that," Alma added.

Newcomers who didn’t know Zein’s story might only see him as a part of Umbra, but those who lived here long enough would know that most guides in Umbra came from being trafficked or kidnapped. And those who lived here even longer knew the miserable life Zein had to face since his childhood.

"Although the reporters can also twist it in any way they like," Zach, ever the realist, remarked with a sigh.