For the rest of the day, Austin became even more clingy and persistently stayed by Eva's side. He also allowed only the most trusted people in the household to be on the second floor of the central wing, which constituted only a handful of people.
The next morning arrived together with a letter for Eva which Edwin delivered to her room. Eva and Austin frowned at the pink envelope in her hand. It was not the usual cream coloured one Austin received from Esmeralda. However, he gave it a benefit of the doubt, thinking that Esmeralda may have changed the colour since it was addressed to Eva instead. However, Eva stayed cautious. Why would Esmeralda send a letter to her?
She opened the envelope with extreme care. There was no string or trap within it. It was really just a pretty envelope holding a pretty scented paper. However, the writing was dark, harsh, and messy. Anyone could tell that it was written with much anger and hate.
"I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU. You
BANG! BANG! BANG! Drey's wide smile stayed on his face as the light in his crazed eyes slowly faded away. His body fell onto the floor like a marionette whose strings got cut. Austin put his gun down, fired the green flare right up above them, then crawled towards Eva very slowly, leaving a trail of blood behind him. Austin had momentarily passed out due to the pain, then was brought back by a different pain. It was like everything that touched his skin carried static. Through the pain, he located Drey and found him fighting with Eva. As much as he wanted to act immediately, he had only one shot left. Drey was the healthiest and fittest there. A slip up from them and Drey would slip away. Worst still, Eva's life would be lost. Austin's patience paid off in the end. Upon reaching Eva's side, he took out the antidote that was in his ring and tried to put it in her mouth. However, Eva kept her mouth shut, and shook her head ever so slightly. He knew that
Luna opened her eyes and a breathtakingly beautiful mural of a night sky full of stars greeted her. There was a prominent moon in the middle of the mural. It looked graceful and outstanding. Although it was just shades of grey and black paint on a white ceiling, it looked like a masterpiece to Luna. It was piece that brought tears to her eyes. Her heart thumped loudly as her hands moved to feel what was beneath her. It cannot be. Did she return home? She sat up and took a good look around. It was indeed her room, but it was not either. Everything in her room looked the same. Erica's mural on the ceiling and the elaborate paintings hanging on the white walls. The green plants by the corners. Her study table and chair. The tall and wide bookshelf beside it. The only strange difference was the falling plum blossoms outside her window, which also seemed to give off a dim glow.BaoBao appeared at the doorway of her room. "Surprised, aren't you?" He beamed."What's going on?
It did not take long for BaoBao to receive their next assignment.A book with a brown cover and gold trimmings and words appeared between them. Luna returned the previous book to BaoBao then took the new book. BaoBao made the previous book disappear then informed her that he left the book on her study table."Why?""You don't want to keep it?""Well, it's not like this is the first time we got rewarded for our performance... And I don't really see the need to collect it.""It's never too late to start~ And they're like trophies! Every time we see them, we can be reminded of our accomplishments! Isn't that great?""Well... You have a point." A small smile tugged on her lips. "You've indeed grown, BaoBao."Her compliment made BaoBao beam and puff his chest out with pride.On her way to the sofa, BaoBao glanced at the dining table that was not too far away and asked, "It's funny how there's food here when you don't eve
A soft beeping sound woke Luna up. She sat up on the small but comfy white bed and looked around. The room looked futuristic and minimalistic. Everything were shades of white. Blue light that indicated the time shone through the wall above the study table opposite her bed. It was still 7am in the morning. The window behind her was opaque and merely gave off an ambient light.Suddenly, BaoBao appeared by the study table then touched a device that looked like a bluetooth earpiece in her original world. His body started to look like television static as he faded away."BaoBao?"After a brief moment of silence, BaoBao's voice rang through her mind.[Woah!! This place is awesome! Everything in your tiny home can be controlled with thisONE communication device! What would you like to do first? Bathe? Eat? Surf the web? Watch a show?]While BaoBao threw out his suggestions, he simultaneously activated them in her room. The sound
BaoBao thought ahead of whatever Naoko needed, including the littlest things like flushing and turning faucets on and off. He saved her every milisecond of time that he could.One of the technology that awed Naoko the most was the clothes. There were only the basic designs - Shirt, pants, skirt, and dress. They were all made of a strange grey material that was soft and comfortable yet durable and strong. The appearance changes thanks to a certain technology that acted like a billion minute screens melded together. This nano-like techonology could also alter the length to some extent and other tinier details according to the design purchased online. No matter the size or shape of the person's body, it could tailor itself to the person's body. Essentially, it was akin to playing dress up with a virtual doll. The clothes simply had to be recharged once every few days and it was cleaned and sanitised using UV light.Having done only the minimal needed for her morning prepa
The clerk routinely went through the usual briefing that every adventurer had to go through before their expedition.Usually, they only needed to contact the headquarters if their journey lasted longer than the stipulated duration and declare if they needed assistance or not. This time, their group was required to send in a monthly report of their progress. Any groups that do not follow the protocol will be considered dead. No search party will be activated.After they received the key, they hung around the inner lobby while their hover ship got prepared for them.Feeling bored, Eiichi taunted Isamu. "What an idiot. If not for you, perhaps we'd get even more.""How are you so sure that it was not because of your sissy look, huh? Or because of your poor records,
The group stopped before one of the largest hover ship in the hanger. Naoko tried to be as discreet about her excitement as possible. She took measured breaths as she toured the inside of the hover ship. Although it was not the first time being inside a hover ship of this size for the original soul, it was the first time for Naoko. The hover ship was big enough to hold everything they needed for the long journey ahead, but not everything they could want."I'm taking this room!" Isamu loudly declared as he dumped his belongings in the room that he entered first."Childish." Eiichi remarked."Cheh. If we had to share a room, let's see who'd act more childishly." Isamu argued back."Boys, let's just stay happy about getting a room for ourselves, okay?" Aimi stepped in.The boys snorted and turned away from each in distaste."I'm taking that room." Eiichi staked his claim next.One by one, they chose their rooms. Those who could not care
Naoko woke up early the next morning, long before the sun would come up. BaoBao informed her that Aimi was still fast asleep. It confirmed her suspicion that Aimi only interfered whenever Tadashi was involved. The change in her environment did not cause any alteration in her morning routine. After washing up, she headed to the gym. She ignored the gym equipment by the side and carried out her physical exercises and martial arts practice on the huge impact-absorbing mat. Piloting a mecha not only required piloting skills but also good physical fitness to withstand the shocks and its continuous operation. Although the original soul had not neglected her physical fitness, it was still not as much as what Naoko would have done. The original soul focused more on building her knowledge aspect since she fully trusted Aimi to fulfill the physical half, which was something Naoko did not have. After one grueling hour, she used the mecha simulation application to practice her piloting