"Elias? Elias? Hey. Elias!"
"Huh? What?" Elias responded absentmindedly.
"Are you okay? We've been calling you." Valerie asked.
"Ah, yeah. I was just absorbed in my thoughts. What is it?"
Everyone looked at him funnily. "More like, what were YOU saying?" Another teammate asked.
Elias blinked several times, looking lost. "Did I say something?"
"We were discussing which team to duel with after lunch?" Valerie whispered while nudging him hard. "Focus!"
"We were? Oh, we were!" He cleared his throat. "That's obviously what I was thinking about."
Everyone looked at him unconvinced.
"Are you still preoccupied with Team Leader Angie?" Valerie asked flatly. "You were obviously staring."
"It's called studying the opponent, silly." He rapped her forehead, again. "We'll duel with them later."
"Huuuuh?" Everyone on his team groaned.
"They're too fierce."
"Too unfriendly."
"It isn't fun."
Angie's three teammates could not answer her. They were ready to follow her to the death, but to partake in something as seemingly silly and reckless, then lose their lives to that? They began to have second thoughts about it. Their expressions clouded over as their loyalty conflicted with their rationality.Angie softened her tone. “I understand that this is something huge to absorb. Take your time to think about it. Think it through, carefully and thoroughly. Don’t rush it. Understood?”The men looked at her with grave expressions, but nodded.At the same time, the door to their room opened. Angie and her team immediately straightened their posture and saluted the man who entered with a team of technicians."Report." Their section commander demanded."Angie Dawson, reporting. I punched the mimic and it fell apart." Angie got the ball rolling."Brandon Fields, reporting. We know that should be impossible.
Angie gritted her teeth in frustration and annoyance. He had played her. “You-”“What has it got to do with you, you asked? Nothing. It has nothing to do with you. I'm just frustrated. I feel so maligned. Then I remembered that you’re here! Ha!”[What?! This isn’t how karma was supposed to work!]He leaned in for a kiss but Angie headbutted him and pushed him back. It was a piece of cake for her. She just needed to utilise a little bit of her spiritual energy. She skidded off the table on the opposite side of him while a low ominous chuckle sounded by the side."Still as fiesty as ever. I'll never be bored by you."/Deja Vu?/[Ew, he's the same.] BaoBao said at the same time as Angie./Where did I encounter this before again?/[First world. That-]/Psychopath./[Yeah.]
"What?" Elias broke out of his little trance-like state."Hm? Nothing." Angie recovered her flat expression fast, then walked away."Can't be. I'm sure I heard you say something.""That's some really good lie you told at the clinic to get me out.” She changed the topic, hoping that he would get derailed too. “I didn't know you'd stoop to that to get what you want."He shrugged. "You didn't seem keen about the checkup either. So, I figured, why not? I didn't think you would mind. Do you mind?"Angie shook her head."What exactly do you hate so much about the clinic?""Nothing much.""Impossible. Did you know how much hostility and negativity radiated off of you when we left the clinic?"/I can't trust his blabbermouth…/"If you're so curious, feel free to check in each time I visit the clinic.""Huh? Why're you so sure that you'll return to the clinic?""You'll know w
Angie came upon a tall but narrow building. With far fewer exposed pipes and painted cement in place of heavy duty metal, it looked a lot more welcoming than the military compound.Her eyes darted around. There were a few more soldiers returning home, including Valerie./Hm? She’s fast today./ Angie noted the difference based on the original soul’s memories./Does she have something on later?/Angie took the stairs instead of the lift, even though her floor was the topmost level. Although the mask was highly breathable and efficient, exerting her body with the mask on still felt different. Moreover, the quality of air outside was poorer than the air pumped indoors.She stopped before a plain grey door, slid her palm across the cold smooth surface, then listened to the sound of bolts coming undone. After that, she pushed open the door and stepped in. When the door swung shut behind her, the bolts could be he
“I’m planning to fake my death during my upcoming mission. I’ll leave behind some trouble for them to be preoccupied with, so that you can sneak out and come with me on the mission.” Angie shared more details of her plan.“Does everyone on the mission know of this?” Her mother pulled back from the hug to discuss more seriously.“I’ve told them but they haven’t decided yet.”Her mother frowned.“Don’t worry. Even if they don’t go, they’re trustworthy. They won’t blab.”“Do they… Know?”Angie shook her head.Her mother sighed in relief. “You know… Since we’re leaving… We could cause a breach in the military’s security and let them get ravaged by all those monsters out there.” Her eyes sparkled like a little child.It was on the tip of Angie’s tongue to reject he
Angie and Elias sat side by side by the door of the room. She sat with her back ramrod straight, while Elias slouched with his elbows on his knees. Angie had been ready to listen to him rant or share his heart woes, but there was only dead silence since the time they entered the room.“What do you think of monogamy, Angie?” Despite thinking long and hard about his loss, it still did not make sense to him. Yes, he was of a lower position than Conrad. Yes, he did not promise her monogamy. However, was he not the one helping her by her side all the time? True that Conrad could help Valerie a lot more now that they became official, but he anticipated more trouble than benefits to the situation. Was his presence and affection so easily overwritten like that?Elias’ question came so suddenly that Angie took a while to think of something to say. She lightly cleared her throat. “Mm… I think it’s sweet and romantic.”
Over the next few days, the results of the new rearrangement already began to show. Due to different reasons, Angie, Elias, Jeffery, and Alfonso reached a new peak performance. The better and more resilient teams approached them during the team battles segment and received pointers and guidance. The rest of the teams that gave whatever excuses for their low performance and rested on their laurels got relegated to a new division. Although the purpose of the new division was left unsaid, any smart and observant individual could infer from the composition of the teams and how much resources went to training them. This further spurred the teams in the original division to stay focused and driven. Valerie was one of those who got relegated. Despite her relationship with Conrad, he could not help her out too explicitly. Otherwise, it would only give others more reason to disapprove of their relationship. Conrad was already doing what he could to save Valerie from being summoned by the hi
The next morning, Angie easily appeared at Elias' residence on time, since he lived just two blocks away from her. As her lot reached Elias' floor by the stairs, they witnessed a few young women leave Elias' flat. Angie recognised them as part of the group that surrounded Elias the previous week. Did they sleep over?[No, they didn't.] BaoBao responded fast. [They just came earlier this morning. Since it was for nothing important, I didn't tell you. I didn't want to spoil your mood.] He explained./How's my mood ruined? I'm fine./ "Angie, you're here!" Elias happily greeted her. "Ms Dawson." Elias bowed in respect.Her mother was slightly taken aback by how he addressed her. This was the first time someone addressed her by her last name without her asking for it. "I like this boy." She whispered to Angie to praise him."And-" Elias' smile turned stiff and his eyes rounded a little bit. "Jeffer