In the middle of a busy intersection stands a beautiful female wearing the blue uniform of a police officer wearing the orange-green uniform of a traffic enforcer.
This beautiful female is none other than Elizabeth.
Yep, a beautiful female that decided to be a hero. Thankfully, technology has advanced to high levels or else my hair would be ruined by all the smoke these cars could be releasing.
Elizabeth is currently doing her job as a traffic enforcer and right now she is doing a wonderful job, somehow the drivers are obediently following the rules.
This is because of Elizabeth’s graceful beauty that strikes both men and female.
Elizabeth’s face is currently deadpan as she carefully does her job. Despite this, Elizabeth still retains her calm and heart-stopping beauty but if one looks at her carefully, they would notice small eye bags forming beneath her eyes.
Yep! I haven't properly slept!
Yesterday night I couldn’t sleep because of the fact that I basic knowledge about cultivating, ingrained in my memory.
According to the instructions embedded in my mind, there's three simple steps in cultivating. First, I need to find a place with dense natural energies. Second, I need to sense the energy permeating the area. Third and last, I need to absorb and filter the energy.
I know that my meeting with Spark awakened my 'immortal soul', allowing me to regain some of the memories that used to belong to me.
How does that work anyway? Is reincarnation real?
Due to me awakening my immortal soul, basic instructions about absorbing the natural energies appeared in my mind.
Everything was going smooth until...
There's no energy!!
This city is literally a wasteland of natural energy!
Calm down Elizabeth, you're a reasonable person, you can do this.
I calm down and reassess my plans. The city isn't completely devoid of natural energy but it is so sparce, that it would take me a hundred years before I could absorb and filter enough energy to reach the first level. That's not even the worst part! I noticed that the energy in the city is so impure that when I'm done filtering it, it's even less than what I absorbed
*Sigh*
Instead of trying to cultivate the sparse and impure energy of the city, I started to write everything, lest I forget about my memories. Once I was done writing, I tried to sleep but I was too damn excited to grasp any form of sleep.
When trying to sleep failed, I immediately opened my laptop and started searching for places in the city that has dense agriculture, ancient landmarks, and museums. While I was staying up, I started to comb my memories for places where natural energies appear.
I know that natural energies are more dense in large forests, ancient ruins of cultivation lands, and energy stones. After hours of searching, I found out that the city has no inside forests, no ancient landmarks, no museums that allow fondling of exhibit items and I can't simply exit the city without fulfilling the proper requirements.
'I doubt I'll be able to find an energy stone in this city.'
There are three requirements before one can leave the city. First, one needs a proper reason and a proper ticket. Second, one must have a form of transportation that can traverse nuclear fallouts. Third and last is self-protection, one must be at least lord rank or have bodyguards on that level since the outside of city is prowling with mutated monsters.
I have none of those three requirements, so I need to find a source of energy within the city. Forests are a no, since the only thing here with actual greenery is the city park and the energy there was slightly thicker but the amount is still too scant.
Absorbing the natural energies needs me to concentrate and meditate but it would take literal days for me to make any improvement if I started meditating in the park, not to mention that sitting in a public area for days will earn unwanted attention.
Forests and parks are not available, and forest sanctuaries are expensive to visit if one went there every day. I took a good look at my bank account earlier and my funds aren’t enough for me to visit sanctuaries every day and have enough money to feed myself.
My last options are ancient artifacts and energy stones.
But where will I-
*Crash!*
My contemplation was suddenly interrupted, as I see an SUV crash on the wall of a small book store.
The engine of the SUV is smoking.
The driver seems to be unconscious.
"What..."
My mind suddenly goes into overdrive as I start thinking of the situation. I want to be a hero but that doesn't mean I'll be a stupid hero.
I can't change the world if I die early... but it doesn't mean I'll back away from danger!
Looking at the situation, the whole area is eerily silent as people don’t know what to do but stare.
They're waiting for heroes but they're going to be late.
Once the situation calms down, I immediately run to the SUV.
After reaching the SUV, I immediately open the door and notice the person inside. It's a young man wearing a black suit.
I unbuckle the seatbelt and start to pull him out. I carefully drag the man away to a safer place, farther from the car but before I could go back to the book store, the man pulls the hem of my shirt.
“The… Briefcase…Please...Go… Get… It…” I hear the weak voice of the man below me. I give him a reassuring look and nod. I start running towards the smoking SUV. Once I reach it, I check if I missed anything or anyone inside.
I notice that a small black briefcase is in the back of the SUV lies a small black briefcase. I immediately get it and start to run towards the man.
"Help!"
A shout comes from inside the book store.
I need to help that person inside first.
I go inside the car and throw the briefcase to the other seat. Despite the smoke coming from the car, I start the car and the engine starts to roar.
Technology is truly amazing!
The cars of the world right now no longer need fuel to power it but instead they use a power source made out of nuclear fusion.
One might think driving a nuclear car is scary but the government has been developing nuclear fusion to better the world for more than 100 years but it doesn’t mean that it’s 100% safe, the car can still explode but it is definitely weaker than the prototypes.
The prototypes were practically small nuclear bombs that could take out large buildings but over the years, research reduced the blast radius to the size of a car.
Suddenly the smoking engines start to burn but due to the years of improvement on technology, burning cars can still sustain movement. This feature was added so people could drive to places with less people should their car be in danger of exploding.
They called it the martyr feature.
Unfortunately, right now I'm the martyr.
The car engine roars and I immediately back the car off the bookstore. Once the bookstore is free from the SUV, I run inside and see an old man trapped under the heavy weight of a bookshelf.
An old female is trying to lift the heavy bookcase. I run forward and start to help the woman lift the bookcase but it doesn't even budge, even with my fit body.
Stupid heavy wood.
Suddenly, a man wearing a thick coat, usually worn when winter, rushes in the door and easily lifts the heavy bookcase. After putting the heavy bookcase down, the man rushes out and goes near the burning SUV.
Who?...
A near-transparent ball of energy encircles the whole car.
A meta human!
*Boom!*
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The sound of a contained explosion silences the intersection, as the man withdraws the transparent ball of psychic energy.
After making sure that there is no more immediate danger, the man goes back in the bookstore and kneels to check on the unconscious old man. The man checks the pulse of the man and closes his eyes. A moments later, the old man's eyes open.
A rich and heavy voice fills the room as the man speaks to the old female.
“Miss, please take care of this man, I’ve already called an ambulance. Medical support will be here in a few minutes.”The old woman is muttering her gratitude nonstop until the man stops her.
Paying closer attention, the man’s height reaches 6’6 when standing up and he is wearing a gray colored winter coat that’s longer than his kneecaps. He looks to be in his early-twenties but his strong jawline, and masculine appearance makes him look more mature. His short and roughly cut black hair adds to his appeal and his cold blue eyes can stop any female in their tracks.
I'm not an exception as I stare at this perfectly sculpted man.
“Officer”
Snap out of it Elizabeth! He's calling you.
“Yes?”
“You’ve done a good job handling the situation. If you’ve acted less courageous, these people might have been injured or worse, dead. Especially considering that you aren’t a Meta human.” The man’s cold eyes stare at me but somewhere inside, he seems thoroughly impressed.
I can't help but feel genuinely happy by his praise.
He's a Meta Human!
After taking a proper look at me, the man wavers a little as the officer in front of him is very beautiful and after that display of bravery and courage his cold eyes melt a little. Unsurprisingly, the man returns a smile which immediately washes away his cold demeanor.
Standing up, I offer him a hand.
“Sir, I suggest you watch what you say. Some people might think differently of what you said.” The man takes my hand and stands up. His smile is already gone and his cold demeanor is back but my teasing joke manages to squeeze another smile from him.
“Let them think differently then.” The man’s reply prompts me to raise my eyebrow with amusement.
“My name is Oliver Frost” Oliver reaches out his hand.
“Elizabeth Rielle” I takes his hand and shakes it. A small electrical spark travels in between our hands and lightly shocks us.
“Oh, sorry! I think my tasers malfunctioned” I give an apology while trying to hold back my laughter
“It’s okay” Oliver smiles and accepts it.
After our greeting, we both go outside to survey the situation. The car is still burning but there are no severe casualties, the traffic has been halted but considering the city’s fast response team, it’ll get started within an hour or so.
I decide to wait and it seems Oliver will be waiting as well.
*5 minutes later*
While waiting, two ambulances drive by the intersection accompanied with two police cars.
"They're here" Oliver hears me and looks towards the incoming ambulances and police cars.
The ambulance retrieves the old man and the other one takes the unconscious driver. The police that came asked routine questions on both me and Oliver but thanked us for our work.
They also asked the people in the surroundings on what happened.
According to one of the witnesses, the man suddenly started driving wildly and crashed into the bookstore.
“Elizabeth!”
I suddenly hear someone call my name and before I could react, a police officer crashes onto me. Catching the police officer, I notice that it was Narissa.
On the side, Oliver still had his cold and serious expression while staring at Narissa.
“Liz! Are you okay? You aren’t hurt, are you?” Narissa’s overly protective attitude pulls a smile out of me. I return her gesture with a tight hug.
I feel good today.
“Don’t worry Narissa, I’m fine” I laugh and start to calm my overly excited friend. Eventually she does calm down and after calming down, she immediately notices the Oliver. She pulls me a little bit further away.
Narissa whispers quietly.
“Hey, who’s the hot guy with you?” I laugh and look at Oliver.
“Why don’t you go ask yourself?” I drag Narissa in front of Oliver.
Despite Narissa pulling me away to whisper, Narissa brightly introduces herself to Oliver and contrary to what I expected, Oliver responded lightly without the coldness he displayed earlier but not as warm as the greeting he gave me.
We continued to chat through the whole affair.
After finishing her business, Narissa kisses me goodbye and seductively says goodbye to Oliver, which he just smiles off.
When the police left, a small group of people in trucks came to fix the damage dealt by the car and to haul the car away.
“Well that was interesting” Oliver stares at the leaving police cars and turns to look at me.
I notice his staring and ask.
"Why are you staring?" He chuckles
“Well I just find you very interesting. Tell me, is saving people under duress at the risk of your life a hobby?”
I chuckle at his sarcastic remark but answer anyway.
“I want to be a hero.” This earns an eyebrow raise. “I know that it’s impossible for a normal person, but it’s always what I’ve wanted.”
“Do you want to be powerful or to be famous?”
“Neither, I want to change the world but I can’t, if I’m like this. So I’m trying to find a way to become a hero. I know that within the hundreds of years that Meta humans have existed, there is still no way to make an artificial Meta human but I still need to try.”
"For me, it's do or die trying."
Oliver looks at me as if he’s seen something rare and special. Like how a critique would treasure art, Oliver simply smiles but before we could continue speaking, a phone rings.
Oliver pulls out his phone and starts talking. Surprisingly, Oliver materialized a small barrier that prevents anyone from eavesdropping. Eventually, Oliver hangs up and sighs heavily.
He takes a long look at me and apologizes.
“I’m sorry but I really need to go.”
“It’s okay. I kept you too long” I reply with good grace. I don't want to bother him too much, I'm sure he's a busy guy.
“Thank you, I enjoyed your company." He goes quiet but adds "I wouldn’t mind seeing you again.” Oliver gives me a warm smile.
I have to admit this guy is making me slightly giddy.
I smile and agree to his proposition.
We both say our goodbyes and Oliver starts walking down the road.
Due to the incident, I was given the day off and a new traffic enforcer changed shifts with me, so I can finally go home!
"Wait... I seem to be forgetting something important."
Once I'm already halfway home, I notice that I'm still holding on to the small black briefcase I took from the poor man's SUV.
Oh... Well, I've got more important things to do, I can return it tomorrow when I get back to work.
Right now, I'm looking for a good source of energy to use. I'm going home to try and look for one.
Once I reach my home, I unlock the gate and go inside.
I drop the briefcase in my bedroom and start removing my police uniform.
After changing my clothes, I lie down on my bed and relax for a few minutes. I close my eyes and enter a state of relaxation. Slowly, I start to sense the energies surrounding me and as usual, the energy is still scant but for some reason, it's slightly richer.
What!
I immediately open my eyes and look for the source of energy. I suddenly realize where the energy is coming from and look towards the briefcase.
I see the briefcase emanating an absurd amount of energy that's making the scant energy in the house richer.
I've always wanted to be a hero and after sensing the energy being released by the briefcase, I suddenly forget that I'm a police officer and that the briefcase was a part of an accident.
Reaching out for the briefcase, I quickly look for ways to open it. Almost lost to reason, I start frying the lock with my tasers, which doesn’t work.
After a few hours, I've tried literally dozens of different ways, ranging from knives, hammers, chairs to putting it in a washing machine, and nothing worked.
I need to replace that washing machine on payday.
My eyes are already bloodshot, as I see the briefcase only slighly scratched.
It seems that no matter what I do, the briefcase won't open. Despite being closed, the briefcase emanates more energy than any place I've ever been but I believe that whatever is inside would emanate more, if it was free from this stupid briefcase.
Giving up, I sit down near the briefcase and start to enter a state of relaxation. After a few minutes, I start meditating. Once I sense the energy, I start absorbing it.
This feels utterly wonderful.
The energy coming out the briefcase is pure and dense.
What would usually take me years is only going to take me a week. Smiling, I continue to absorb energy.
----------------------------------------
In a white hallway that’s devoid of dirt, design, and darkness, is a tall man wearing a long gray winter coat that reaches past his knees. This man is none other than Oliver.
“Hey Peter” I hear a man calling my name. Behind me is another man, significantly shorter, standing only at a height of 5’2.
I ignore him and continue walking forward. I still have to send in my report.
“I heard from some people you helped save a bunch of normies” The man’s face crunch in disgust.
Despite ignoring him, the small man continues to babble on.
“Oliver Frost? Really you couldn’t have picked a name better for you.”
The man laughs as he gets closer despite my faster moving long legs.
I continue ignoring him.
“Hey Peter stop ignoring me, or else I’ll beat the crap out of you” I suddenly stop and turn around. I stare him down. The man reciprocates it by smiling the whole time.
“Agent Lucas, please stop provoking me. The division leader does not like it when we both fight” Despite my calm words, I can't hide the chilling aura my body is releasing.
“Peter, spare me BS. You’re just afraid of getting your ass beat again.” I don't reply and leave him to his antics but unfortunately he has the same leader as me.
After reaching the hallway, a dead end greets both of them.
“D. Leader is late again!” Lucas smiles as a door materializes on the wall. I reach the handle and open the door.
An empty white room greets us and in the middle is a white table with the an androgynous person sitting in it. The same undiscernible voice comes to greet them.
“Come in”
“Agent Lakes greets the Division Leader” I give the division leader a very respectful greetings while Lucas continues being noisy.
“Hiyah big D.”
“Charming as always agent Lucas” The division leader gives Lucas a curt nod and orders us.
“Sit” Me and Lucas sit down on the other side of the table.
Unlike the time before, the division leader is drinking tea.
“Agent Lakes, I heard that you engaged the anomaly despite being ordered specifically not to engage it.” My face freezes for a moment but I immediately recover and calmly respond to the division leader. Lucas’ smile fades as it’s replaced by a very serious expression.
Despite the dangerous atmosphere, I calmly respond.
“Yes Division leader, after carefully examining the anomaly, it was definitely weaker than what the reports said. I decided to capture it and after a lengthy fight, it managed to escape but it became even weaker than before. I simply thought that capturing it was more important than gathering information. Please forgive me for not following orders”
I immediately stand up and give the division leader a quick bow.
The division leader’s face mellows and she purses his lips thinking on what to do.
“No, it was right for you to do that. After fighting Agent Phantom and killing him, the anomaly seems to have been weakened and it seemed to be recharging, you weakening it further was the right choice.” Lucas’ face relaxes as the Division leader pardons me.
“Lucky for you Lakes, I would’ve ripped your face off if the leader said so” Lucas’ casual comment earned an icy glare from me. The Division leader gives Lucas an appreciative nod and continues his questioning.
“Agent Lakes, you will continue your job monitoring the anomaly. If it appears, you are to find and capture it, along with this.” After finishing her sentence, the Division leader sends a folder floating towards me. After taking the folder, I start reading it.
“There is a new company that’s currently researching on how to make artificial Meta humans. Eliminate them before they make any actual improvement.” I give the division leader a quick nod. “Remember there must be no proof, nor evidence that will incriminate you or the organization.”
“Agent Lucas, you will continue your job of suppressing those filthy barbarians near the outskirts of the city. They have been very annoying as of late.” Lucas smiles malevolently at the idea of genocide.
“Agent Lakes you may leave” ... I stand up and nod, leaving the two alone.
----------------------------------------
Once Peter exited the room, leaving the two alone, they continue their talk.
“Agent Lucas, I have another job for you.” Lucas’ face changes abruptly because of the Division Leader’s action of making Peter leave.
“I want you to watch over Agent Lakes” Lucas’ face forms a very cruel smile.
“What brought this up big D?”
“I do not believe Agent Lakes’ story about the anomaly. I want you to make sure that he is not a danger to this organization. If he shows any signs of betrayal, silence him. I believe that you can easily kill him if the time requires you too”
Lucas smile become even wider.
“Understood.”