"Because I’m his worker." The words said were way heavier than the levity with which Trevor said them.

Dale felt his knees give way slightly. How did he work for Sarah’s dad? Since when? Did Sarah know?

’Not to mention child labor laws.’

Trevor scoffed. "It’s not that surprising considering who they are."

Dale still had no idea what he was referring to so the other decided to enlighten him.

"In our nation, there are certain families whose name holds a... unique weight when it comes to decisions made." He started and Dale nodded as he listened attentively.

At least even he knew that much. The government often gave families wavers — nothing more than ostentatious, bright, golden keys — which served as nothing but a token and sign of a great contribution to the nation.

A prime example was a plague that broke out almost twenty years before. Thousands of people had died and even more were infected but undiagnosed.

From nowhere, a family rose with a means to test for the disease before they went on to provide a cure.

The government issued them a waver and that was the last time the family ever stepped out into the light.

Surely, the Song family must have done something of similar importance.

Trevor continued: "People think that all decisions are made by the government and our leaders but that couldn’t be farther from the truth."

"Granted, the government does make certain decisions on its own but when it involves sensitive matters that will affect the collective lifestyle of the nation, a meeting has to be held between the higher-ups and the heads of each family."

Too many secrets were being revealed with the grace of a falling rock. Dale had so many questions flaring up in his head but he had to bite back his curiosity for now.

If he didn’t, who knew what the other would forget to mention.

So, Trevor continued. "Amidst the most influential families lies Mr. Song. He is quite different from anyone else within his category.

While he is known by financial organizations as a prospective business owner and philanthropist, the few and trusted are aware of his true position."

Dale couldn’t take it anymore and asked the first question on his mind.

"If that is the case then why are Sarah and you here? Surely you guys would be able to live comfortably without risking your lives on the battlefield." His question was only reasonable.

As far as he was concerned, if his father was as powerful and possessed the same kind of affluence wielded by Mr. Song, it would take the world ending to drag him out of bed.

Trevor rolled up his sleeves and shifted slightly. "I’m sure you already know how Sarah is. She refused to stay within her home or even any of the places suggested by her father."

Dale’s eyebrows furrowed deeply, ’But still the military?’

He couldn’t imagine what her father was thinking letting her put herself in danger.

But perhaps it was he who wasn’t thinking. What gave him the right to assume that all fathers were kind or caring?

For all he knew, Mr. Song could be a brutal drunk behind whatever public image he broadcast.

’Not to mention that it could also be a means of building a deeper tree of influence within the military.’

Dale let himself imagine a situation where Mr. Song was in a meeting with the family heads and the leaders of the military.

If his very daughter were amongst the leaders of the aforementioned military, it would quickly move from a debate and negotiation to a complete turnaround of their will.

And if Dale could recognize this, that meant someone within the military already had.

Power was the most valuable currency and people loved to hoard anything of value. Surely there would be a plot to stop it from happening.

A lot of pieces clicked together in his head, including the Awakened trio.

One was working for Mr. Song, one was his daughter and the last was an orphan whose orphanage was funded by Mr. Song.

Surely they had all known of their common ’sponsor’. The only people amongst the five of them uninvolved in Mr. Song were himself and Austin.

"Does Austin know about Mr. Song?" Dale couldn’t help but ask.

Trevor smirked a little. "Don’t worry, he doesn’t know. Only you do."

That raised another question.

"And why did you tell me?"

Trevor shrugged, "Because you asked. Do you think we’re actively hiding our involvement with Mr. Song? Sarah is literally using his last name."

Dale lingered for a moment, completely stunned. He had a point.

It wasn’t like anyone in their right mind would pop out, aiming a finger at them and accuse them of being associated with a hidden influential person of the state.

Firstly, there was the fear of offending them and thus the head of the family.

Then there was the doubt that you were wrong. All in all, you didn’t actually have to pretend.

Most people would never think of accusing them despite the severity of their suspicion.

With every bit of information he got, the more elusive and powerful the idea of Mr. Song became.

Not to mention his chilling network of influence.

Just what had he done for the nation to be able to operate with such a level of freedom and dare he say pride?

Most people would hide their children from the military where ’accidents’ could occur like what happened during their task.

First and foremost, Mr. Song was a businessman so there must have been or there was actively a reason he let his child join the government.

’I wonder.’

As he thought deeply, he could see Trevor staring at him with an impassive expression.

He decided to ask the latter one last time, "Why are you informing me? And don’t say you aren’t hiding it. I’m sure there are risks to telling people irrespective of whether you’re keeping it a secret or not."

Trevor’s eyes turned cold. "It’s a warning to you."

Dale’s eyes squinted and he listened. He believed Trevor wasn’t threatening him and he was right.

"You are already deeply involved with us, you and Austin alike. Naturally, we have enemies outside and perhaps within this very boot camp."

"You might not know this but the task we had set out to complete was rigged against us. Whether it was an intentional attack or mere coincidence is uncertain but the possibility remains that staying close to us would mean death." He paused.

"Either way, it’s something you should know before deciding if you still want to stay with us."

Dale was genuinely stunned at Trevor’s attention to detail and care for him.

He didn’t know that the setup was actually against him and he didn’t need to.

The fact remained that he was alive strictly because of Trevor and the other Awakened.

They had helped him survive so he would stay with them even if it put him in a slightly uncomfortable position.