"Something strange is going on with Justin and the Whitefrost Clan." Elise Wang announced.

"Definitely. Strange, but exciting. Count me in please." Eliana Wang agreed.

"Are you sure you want in? You Wangs are so high and mighty, why do you want to be involved with us Whitefrosts who are on the decline?" James said conversationally as he stomped ahead with an extra spring in his step.

I had just infused him with a wisp of red energy, and brought his light mecha's strength to match the Wangs at peak blue mecha.

He was very rapidly acclimatizing himself to the increased power and ease of control.

"On the decline? Maybe. But a starved camel is still more powerful than a horse. My mother always says that you Whitefrosts are still a power to be reckoned with despite your high profile losses in recent years. You guys are still the core of the Federation's most fearsome shocktroopers. You may have lost a few of your top fighters, but the juggernaut of a system that is the clan is still running smoothly, and with that old man still at the helm, the days of decline are still a ways off." Elise Wang replied with the flair of an experienced diplomat.

"And who's to say that Phil Whitefrost is truly dead? If he returns one day, you Whitefrosts would probably resume your ascent. Plus, I heard that his daughter, Emma, is.." Eliana Wang allowed her words to trail at that point.

"Is none of your business." James finished for her.historical

"Touchy, aren't you?" Elise Wang poked James lightly from behind.

James ignored her gallantly, if there was such a thing.

"Anyways, what I am truly interested in is of course not all those things. Our Wang family, although we cannot field a powerful army that could impact battlefields as powerful as you guys could, we have no lack of money, soldiers, and most of all, allies that could do as you guys do, and possibly with more effect. What we do not have, however, are aces in the hole like.. Justin over here." Elise said with deep curiosity oozing thickly out of her voice.

Sensing that I wasn't about to bite her bait and start spilling my beans, she gave her hook and line a couple of wiggles.

"First it's his incredible secret in strengthening mechas so naturally! None of you Whitefrosts have shown anything remotely similar, so this ability is his and his alone. Such an incredible and exclusive power points to something that is either external of the Whitefrosts or something experimental. Considering the massive amount of unaccounted money our family's investigators have found, it could very well be the second possibility.

Second, it's his strange hold over you Whitefrosts. How he managed to secure your support despite having such shady background and how he managed to have such incredible RPL despite having a really crappy upbringing is driving my investigators completely nuts.

Finally, his recent disappearance and his change in aura upon his return. What the hell was that about?"

I couldn't help but gulp in slight dismay.

I had thought that my possession of Devour was something that won't be so easily discovered. But here I was, listening to a brief analysis by a ten year old that pointed straight to the fact that I had an incredible ability which could almost only be explained by my possession of Devour!

Thank goodness the Whitefrosts had spent a massive amount of money on Emma and the experimental core that was yet unactivated within her.

Having another experimental core within me would still be something acceptable.

It would raise questions as to why and how the Whitefrosts managed to develop the second experimental core. But it was still far easier to accept that against a odds, the Whitefrosts was able to do that instead of the fact that I had within me the power to absorb not only white and golden mechas, but also alien tech!

Still, the fact that the Wang twins had no idea about the experimental core within Emma proves that at least Secretary Wang knew where to draw the line with her kids.

Training them up to be excellent diplomats was one thing, national secrets was another.

"You want to know my secret?" I finally spoke up and asked the two girls the question that they had probably been dying to hear.

"Yes!" Both said very coolly and nonchalantly. But the fact that they both did so immediately and in unison betrayed just how excited they were.

"There is no free lunch in this world. This secret concerns my life, my well being and my future. If you want in, then you must abide by the rules and declare your loyalty to me." I said very simply.

I knew I sounded like the head of a secret cult, but I truly wanted that extra bit of assurance. The Wang girls would probably not betray me, their family blood ran a righteous red all over the annals of the Chinese Federation afterall.

"Having them declare out loud their loyalty to me would probably scare them off." I remember thinking to myself. "They would never do such a th-"

"I hereby declare my loyalty to Justin, this dude right here. After my loyalty to my Country, my Family, I will be loyal to Justin and to the secret he will share with us." Came Elise Wang's solemn voice.

Eliana Wang's voice rang out not a second later, saying the exact same thing, word for word.

"What the hell? Are you two crazy? Swearing loyalty to him? Are you so sure he would be worth it? What if he turns out to be a lazy bum and merely orders you two around to serve him bacon endlessly?' James Whitefrost exploded with a shout of disbelief.

"What? You think he is you?" Elise Wang was probably rolling her eyes at him at that moment.

"Have you not received his power boost? Would someone with such a world changing ability stay home and snack on bacon while the world burns with war?" Eliana Wang was also probably rolling her eyes at him.