Rose sighed, as she looked at what remained of the food on the table.

“Remember back then when I said that your mother sent me here to protect you?”

“Y-you can’t possibly mean--”

“Yes, exactly. Your mother is Nightingale, the leader of Sky Haven. I’m surprised that with Cyberpunk05 helping you, you still didn’t know about this.”

“We searched around, but there was nothing in the employee’s database about her. No photo, no information. The only information we got was the recruitment advert that was somehow encrypted.”

“Obviously, she wouldn’t want anyone knowing who she is. She didn’t want any harm to befall you, and she definitely didn’t want you to get involved in any of this. That’s why she sent me.”

“Oh well. That’s a pity. I’m going to get involved anyways. And I’m going to find her! She’s got a lot of explaining to do!” he said, slamming a fist into the restaurant table. Because his hands were sturdy, and he cultivated the dancing dragon fist, the table could not hold it. It broke apart!

The plates and glasses that were on the table fell and broke as well. Due to the commotion caused by the table breaking and the plates and glasses falling, everyone turned to look at the duo.

“This is as bad as things go”, spoke Ryan, with an embarrassed look. Several security guards came over to see what was happening.

“Ahem. Is there something wrong, sir?” asked one of the security guards. He was a bald, middle-aged man who wore a neat tuxedo.

“No nothing is wrong”, apologized Ryan.

“Learn to control your strength, will you?” whispered Rose, as she stood up.

“I can’t help it, hey. I was fired up”, responded Ryan, in a whisper.

The manager of the restaurant came to see what was happening. He was a fat, middle aged man, with a small goatee.

“What’s going on here?” asked the fat manager.

“Ummm, I accidentally broke your table. Don’t worry. I can pay for it”, responded Ryan, with an embarrassed look. The manager was not amused.

“Can you come with me, sir, so we can discuss this matter, privately?” asked the fat manager, with a smile.

Rose glared at Ryan when she heard this statement, while he frowned. The problem was, he didn’t want to cause a scene. Therefore, he obediently followed the manager to an office that was upstairs. Peace followed after their departure, as some waiters started cleaning up.

When they arrived at the office, the fat manager offered Rose a seat, followed by Ryan. He sighed before saying, “You broke our very expensive furniture, how are you going to pay for it?”

Ryan was startled, before he figured out what was going on. The manager thought he was broke. Therefore, instead of embarrassing the kid and his date in front of the customers, he thought they’d talk in private and probably come to some sort of arrangement. Ryan smiled. He liked this guy.

“I’m sorry, seems you’re probably mistaken. Just send me the bill and I’ll transfer the money to your restaurant’s account”, he said, standing up.

“Excuse me! Can you even afford this bill? Is it alright if we speak to your parents?”

“No! It’s not! First of all, they’re no longer in this world. And second of all, what makes you think I can’t afford it? Would I be here to eat in the first place?”

“Well, some of you kids nowadays like going to expensive restaurants just to impress the girls. The problem comes when you can’t pay bill! We have had our fair share of this scenario, trust me!”

Ryan sighed, before replying, “Okay, this won’t work at all. How much is the bill?”

The manager called someone over the phone. A man wearing glasses came in. He was holding a calculator and a file.

“Thanks for coming. Now can you explain to Mr … eh …”

“Avariz”, interjected Ryan.

“Yes Av-wait… Avariz? What’s your name?”

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“Ryan? Why?”

“Ryan Avariz? Are you related to Derik Avariz?”

“He’s my father. Rather, he was”, answered Ryan, with a sad expression.

“That’s ridiculous! How do we know you’re not lying?”

Ryan fished his wallet, and then produced his social security card, which he handed to the fat manager.

“S-so … it’s you? I apologize for this. We will take care of the bill. Don’t worry about anything. If you need anything, here’s my card. You and your girlfriend are always welcome in our restaurant.”

“She’s not my girlfriend!”

“He’s not my boyfriend!”

They both spoke in unison. Ryan took his identity card back, as well as the manager’s card. It was written Reeve Halloway at the back with a font that was quite legible. Ryan scratched his head, as he tried to think where he had heard this name before. However, he gave up when he realized that he couldn’t come up with a single idea.

After Ryan and Rose left, the man with the glasses asked the manager, “Why the special treatment? Did you know his father?”

“Of course, I did. It’s thanks to him that we have a business here, and that I have the surname Halloway. Anyway, we’ll shoulder the costs of the broken stuff. Just make sure you don’t do anything to upset the kid”, spoke the manager, as he gestured the man with glasses to leave the office.

After Ryan and Rose left the office, no one had the appetite to remain in the restaurant any longer. They got into the car they had come with and drove off. It was now dark, and as they were driving, Rose asked, “What was that all about?”

“He must’ve been a friend of my father’s. But the problem is I don’t remember him at all. I didn’t even see him at the funeral. Something is fishy about him.”

“Up until now, you still haven’t explained to me how there are people who live on the island, if your father owns it.”

Ryan sighed. “Some time ago, my grandfather wanted to retire and live somewhere remote. He had left his job because of a conflict with people at work. My father decided to buy the island from the Allied Nations. However, the agreement was that it would remain under the jurisdiction of the Euphrasian Continent. He gave my grandfather the island on his 60th birthday.”

“So the island was already under the jurisdiction of the Allied Nations when he bought it? He must’ve been rich.”

“Yeah. He had just become a multimillionaire back then.”

“What’s the next step from here onwards?”

“I’m going to Megapolis to join Sky Haven. I need to create an opportunity to see my mother. I need to ask her what happened to my father. After that, I will investigate Cerberus, then destroy it completely.”

“And after that?”

“I don’t know. I’ll figure that out when I succeed in destroying that organization! I’ll make them pay for killing my grandfather!” he replied with firm determination.

“I see. Nightingale is going to kill me when she finds out I was helping you. I was supposed to keep an eye on you to make sure you didn’t get involved.”

“Well, it’s too late for that now.”

The car neared the farm, and they turned towards the farm. Ryan got out first when they parked, and like a perfect gentleman, he opened the door for Rose.

“Thanks for tonight”, she spoke.

“You’re welcome. I’m sure this is the last night we have of peace and tranquillity. We should cherish it, and enjoy ourselves, before all hell breaks loose”, replied Ryan.

“You had to ruin it”, said Rose, rolling her eyes.

The night passed uneventfully. When morning came, Ryan went to see his friend, Peter Russ. Since it was a weekend, Peter hadn’t gone to school that day. He was surprised to see Ryan, who had vanished into thin air for some time. When he visited the farm, there was nowhere there. After getting a satellite call from Ryan explaining bits of what had happened, he sort of calmed down. But now he was seeing his friend again. It was quite a surprise.

“You didn’t tell me you were back from ‘vacation’. Why the surprise visit?” asked Peter, as he handed Ryan a game controller.

“I came to say goodbye. I’m leaving for Megapolis”, replied Ryan.

“What? Did your grandparents agree to this?”

“They’re no longer in this world”, replied Ryan, with a sullen look.

“What happened?”

“Remember when I told you about that dangerous organization? They killed my grandparents!”

“Why would they do such a thing?”

“I don’t know either. That’s what I need to find out now.”

“This is quite dangerous. Are you sure you can do this?”

“Of course. There are very few weapons that can hurt me right now.”

GAME OVER!

A voice echoed through the room, from the speakers.

“You lost, as usual”, said Peter.

“It’s been a long time since I last played this game. Now I’m going to be playing a more dangerous game. By the way, can you check something for me?”

“What is it?”

“I need you to find out who Reeve Halloway is.”

Peter went to sit at his computer, and started clicking furiously, typing in commands. After ten minutes without saying anything, he finally said, “He doesn’t exist.”

“Wait, what? So who gave me this card?” asked Ryan, taking out the card he had gotten from the fat manager.

“Officially, he doesn’t exist. I’ll ask around from my dark net contacts. You’ll be available on your IRC account, right?”

“Yes. We’ll use that as our mode of communication from now on.”

“By the way, is it really true that Cora Waterline is the assassin we were looking at the other time?”

“Of course, it is. Why would I lie to you?”

“Interesting. Who would’ve known?”

“Just like no one knows you’re Cyberpunk05, the most notorious hacker on earth.”

“Hey hey, are you trying to get me arrested?”

“Never mind. I’m leaving, I have a plane to catch.”

“Who are you going to be staying with in Megapolis?”

“I’m thinking of living with my aunt. However, I know my movements will be restricted once that happens. Also, I can’t explain what happened to my grandparents.”

“I see. Wish you the best of luck.”

“Thanks a lot. See you around.”

After leaving the house, he went home and packed a few clothes. Since Rose had promised to help him, she went and packed her newly bought clothes, and they both left for the airport. They got on the plane, and it didn’t take them a long time before they landed in Megapolis.

Ryan took in a breath of fresh air, before saying, “Megapolis. I missed you a bit. Now it feels weird to be back.”

“We’re here, now what?” asked Rose.

“Ryan! Over here!” came a feminine voice, from the waiting area.

“Oh no!” responded Ryan.