Jake felt there was nothing more to discuss and was ready to say goodbye to Catalina and end the call. But her expression then changed, signaling there was something weighing on her mind. So instead of concluding the call, he decided to wait for her to share what was bothering her.

"So about this ability of yours," she finally said, carefully choosing each word. "If it lets you read minds or something, then you must know a lot about what's happening in the city, right? What are people up to, and so on?"

"Yeah," Jake replied, wondering where this was going.

Catalina went silent for a moment. Jake didn't rush her, instead watching the Scarlands pass by beyond the bubble canopy.

After a little while, she broke the silence again. "I don't know if you know this, but not everyone trusts you."

"I'm aware," Jake replied.

Catalina was silent for a moment, carefully watching his expression, but sure enough, she couldn't decipher anything, as his natural monstrous visage rendered him incapable of displaying any emotions.

She clearly expected him to elaborate, but he didn't say anything else. After realizing he wasn't going to provide more information, she hesitated for a moment.

Finally, she seemed to come to a decision and said, "Melissa and I have talked about you a few times. We definitely appreciate having you on our side and dealing with Los Demonios. But," she paused briefly as if gathering her courage, "at the same time, we can't help but wonder what the future holds for us. Sure, for now, you and we are allies, but we can't ignore the possibility that we may become enemies at some point."

Jake didn't say anything. He was already aware of what Catalina had just told him, so it didn't come as a surprise.

"It's not that we plan to double-cross you or anything," she continued, looking directly at him. "We're just trying to think critically. We can't ignore the possibility that we could end up as enemies someday. Not that we want to, but given our differences and needs, it's hard to predict what the future will bring. We have to be prepared for anything. So yes, Melissa and I have talked a bit about what we might do if, at some point, we found ourselves at odds with you."

Jake was surprised by her honesty. He already knew that she and Melissa had been discussing this topic, but he didn't expect Catalina to admit it to him so openly.

She studied him carefully, as if evaluating his reaction to her confession. Jake remained silent for a moment, lost in thought.

"I'm not going to turn on you unless you give me a reason to," Jake finally said, thinking back to Los Demonios.

When he first encountered the bandits, he had ignored them, letting them do as they pleased. They attacked and enslaved ordinary survivors, but Jake didn't pay attention to those atrocities.

It wasn't until later that he realized he and they couldn't coexist, leading him to eliminate their organization.

So he decided that as long as regular survivors didn't encroach on his territory and stir up trouble for him, he would leave them alone.

"That's great to hear," Catalina said, clearly relieved. She was silent for a moment before adding, "You know, I feel guilty for even thinking that we might have to fight you at some point. I believe you when you say you have no reason to turn against us after dealing with what's left of Los Demonios. But not everyone might be so easily convinced. I hear what people say around me."

She fell silent once more, seemingly struggling to find the right words. Jake didn't rush her, waiting patiently for her to collect her thoughts.

"People are scared of the army of monsters you've created," she eventually said. "And that's understandable. I can see why they feel that way. The creatures you've made… they're truly terrifying."

"Just stay out of their way," Jake said. "Some of them are just drones collecting resources. They won't fight back even if attacked. As for my combat units, they're programmed not to harm my allies without cause. Unless I give them a direct order, they won't attack you, humans. So just let them be, and they'll return the favor."

"That's good to hear," Catalina replied. However, Jake could detect a note of apprehension in her voice. He had hoped his reassurance would calm her, but for some reason, it didn't. Catalina still looked troubled.

She stared at him in silence for a moment before asking, "So, you have a pretty advanced operation going on, huh?"

It was clearly a rhetorical question, so Jake didn't respond.

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After a moment, Catalina asked, "What kind of resources are your drones collecting?"

That was likely what was bothering her.

"Not human ones," he replied noncommittally.

"Good to know," she replied, sounding a bit dry, realizing he wasn't going to reveal his secrets.

"Look, like I said, just leave my creatures be," Jake added, trying to put her mind at ease. "They won't attack humans unless you give them a reason to."

"Understood," Catalina said.

Jake thought for a moment before adding, "And by the way, if you happen to come across my lairs, stay away from them. That's my territory, and it's heavily guarded against intruders. Humans will only find trouble there."

Catalina lifted her eyebrows. "Your lairs? Oh, right. I suppose you need some hidden places for breeding your monsters, don't you?"

Jake simply nodded, not willing to reveal too many details. He wanted to demonstrate to Catalina that he didn't have any reason to be enemies with humans, but that didn't mean he was prepared to share everything about himself.

"Alright," Catalina said. "I'll let my people know that your creatures aren't a threat. They should keep their distance, and in return, your creatures won't cause any trouble for them. Sound right?"

"Yes. Like I mentioned, my creatures won't attack humans for no reason. Even if they come across humans in the street, they won't pay them any attention. But my lairs are off-limits. If someone decides to enter one of my lairs, that'll be on them. They can only blame themselves for whatever happens inside."

"That sounds… quite terrifying," Catalina said, unable to mask the fear on her face.

"Because it is. Humans will find nothing but horrors and trouble for themselves in my lairs. Anyone who enters will never be heard from again. Consider yourself warned."

Catalina nodded with a grim expression. After a moment of silence, she said, "Okay, I'll share everything you've told me with my people and ask them to spread the word. You're not our enemy. They shouldn't attack your creatures, as they're just minding their own business. And people should stay away from your lairs."

She paused for a moment. "Is there anything else?"

"That pretty much covers it," Jake replied.

"Alright."

Jake thought they had covered everything, but Catalina suddenly asked another question.

"What have you been creating your army of monsters for?" she asked.

"To take down Los Demonios," he replied, even though that wasn't entirely true.

"From what I've seen, you're more than capable of dismantling their organization on your own," Catalina said, seemingly reading his thoughts.

"It's quicker when you have an army of monsters, though," Jake replied.

"I bet. Does that mean you'll stop creating more monsters once Los Demonios is completely gone?"

"I will not."

Catalina gave him a disapproving look, but he shrugged it off. She was right: he didn't truly need an army of monsters to take down Los Demonios. However, having them available was definitely beneficial in many ways.

He also knew that he needed to upgrade at least one of his lairs to the final Rank X before he could evolve to the next Rank IV stage.

He intended to give that his full attention after taking down Los Demonios' main base and returning to the city.

"By the way," Catalina said, pulling him back to reality, "there's something happening in the city. There's something called the Ravage contamination taking over the city, covering some of the buildings in an organic substance of some sort. We tried to destroy it, but our weapons can't seem to do shit against it. Do you know anything about it?"

"I came across that substance too," Jake said. "I have no idea what it is. I tried to tear it apart as well, but to no avail."

"So it has nothing to do with your building lairs and breeding monsters?" Catalina asked, eyeing him with suspicion.

Clearly, she was voicing not just her own opinion but the sentiments of all the survivors in the city. They must be blaming him for what was going on.

"I have nothing to do with that," he reassured Catalina, but from the look in her eyes, it was obvious she wasn't sure whether she should believe him.

After a brief pause, she said, "This Ravage contamination, as it's called, is spreading incredibly fast. It's already taken over thirteen percent of the city."

"Really?" Jake replied, surprised.

The last time he encountered the Ravage contamination, it had only covered 2% of the city, and that had been just a short while ago. Lately, he had concentrated on the last two secondary bases and hadn't taken the time to explore the city, so he wasn't aware that the contamination had spread so extensively.

"Yeah," Catalina replied. "We constantly get a message on our PDAs that updates us on the percentage of the city affected by Ravage contamination, whatever that is. It grows exponentially. People are really scared, Jake. Nobody knows what's happening or what might come of it. As of now, Ravage doesn't seem to cause any harm apart from altering the environment, but who knows what's next?" She paused briefly before adding, "It's good to know you're not involved in this, though. If you discover what Ravage is and how to eliminate it, please let me know, okay?"

Jake nodded. Considering how rapidly the Ravage contamination was spreading, he wondered what percentage of the city would be affected by the time he destroyed the Los Demonios main base and returned.

With nothing else to talk about, Catalina and Jake exchanged their goodbyes. Once the call ended, Jake turned his attention back to piloting the helicopter.

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