Chapter 15 Fear

Miyong

“Hey, want to go to the movies together sometimes?” This guy has a pretty face but I hate that his eyes are constantly going to my breast.

“Fuck off!” I gave him the middle finger and walked off.

“I told you that bitch only talks to that fat kid. You can find hotter girls in high school next year, don't get hung up on that bitch.” I heard his friends talking as I walked away. So many people hate Yue, it's expected at this point. He is probably watching over the family’s store again. I wonder if Aunty made more coconut ice cream.

—-------------

“Mom? What are you doing?” I was surprised to see my mom talking to Aunty in front of the store. Yue is nowhere to be seen.

“Miyong! You are always so pretty.” Yue’s mom, I call her aunty. She was always kind to me. I returned her smile as she held my hands.

“You came back so early, did you skip class? Go inside and get out of the sun.” My mom pushed me inside and continued her conversation with Aunty. She should give me some face in front of Aunty. I grab the coconut ice cream from the freezer before walking upstairs. My mother yelled something behind me.

Yue’s room is located in a weird place. His house was custom-built by his grandfather from what I have heard. Yue’s room is located behind a bookshelf inside his grandfather's study. Without prior knowledge, no one would know that a room is there. It was such a strange spot that it felt like his family was trying to hide his room.

“Yue, let's play some games.” He was sitting in front of the window reading some difficult books again.

“Hey, I will be done in a few minutes. Please wait a bit.” He looked up and smiled at me. I don't know why so many people hate this guy. He's so sweet.

“Jackson asked me out again, and his friends badmouth you.” I lay down on his bed.

“Hmmmm.” He just nodded and pretended to be listening. Or maybe he is listening. It is difficult to read this guy sometimes.

“Don't you ever get angry at people bad-mouthing you? Their slander is the reason why you don't have any friends.” I rolled around on his bed.

“There is no need to get angry at something like that.” Yue’s eyes are locked on the book in his hands.

“Well, I am angry!” My emotions flared up suddenly. I wasn't quite sure why.

“Do you know why those kids hate me?” He took his eyes away from the book. Our eyes met.

“Because they are assholes bullies.” I threw a pillow at him. Yue smiled but didn't dodge or protect himself. He just took the pillow to his face.

“That's true, but not entirely. They are afraid of me.” Yue picked up the pillow that fell on the floor. He hugged it to his chest like a teddy bear. “People are afraid of what they don't understand. They see someone that's the same age as them, lives in the same neighborhood, goes to the same school but didn't turn out the same way.”

“So? You are smarter than them. So what? That's not a reason to be fucking assholes.” I regret throwing that pillow, now I don't have head support.

“......... Humans are like that. We get jealous when other people gain something good, even when it has nothing to do with us at all. Jealousy breeds resentment. Resentment breeds hatred.” Yue went back to reading his books.

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“But they isolated you from every other kid. Don't you feel lonely? Angry?” I look at that sweet fat kid reading his book by the window.

“I have you,” Yue said with a smile on his lips.

The window was slightly open, and a soft breeze brushed past his hair. I watched him flip each page of that book slowly. His face wasn't handsome, his body a bit too chubby, his personality a bit too cold at times. For some reason, I couldn't take my eyes away.

—---------------------------

“Good morning princess.” I could hear Yue’s voice. Memories of this morning’s events came back to me.

I remember that GM appearance, and my body screaming to tear him apart. Then that thing showed up. My instinct went into overdrive. The Matriarch of Fire. Something inside me screamed to run. Grab anything precious and run. Take Yue and run. Run until I can't run anymore. But Yue stood his ground. My stupid, idiotic, brave hero. I hug him to make sure that he won't be taken from me. And then I lost consciousness.

“Fuck! I lost control of my body again.” I need to find a way to fix this. The new skill that awakens in me is a serious problem. Berserker, my unique skill. I still haven't had the chance to tell Yue about it, but I feel like he already knows.

“..............I know. We will find a way together.” Yue sat down next to me and caressed my face. His hand felt cold. “There are some good news.”

He filled me in on what had happened, and I also saw the new mission.

“I should try to contact my mom.” Tears started to fall from my face. I didn't realize how stressed I was about the possibility of losing my mother. My hands were shaking as I tried to find my smartphone. Yue hugged me and we stayed that way for a while.

“Did you calm down a bit?” His voice is nice. I kiss his collarbone before backing away. My hands are not shaking anymore. “We should contact my family. If they are alive, they will be together and my family will take precautions against the government. Higher chance of being able to talk to them instead of a government middleman.”

“Why is the government acting this way? We are the victims in all this.” I don't know why we are being treated like some suspicious people.

“They don't know what happened to the people inside. I suspect they have already encountered mana users and monsters after the containment went down. It's the reason there are no rescue helicopters above the city right now.” Yue look out at the jungle city. “They are afraid of us. The people who managed to survive and change in this hostile environment. We are monsters ourselves.”

—-------------------

Yue was right to contact his family first. The government took control of all missing people’s family’s social media accounts. Yue’s family has the private software that they developed to use within the family. It's only a simple chat application but it is still good enough to circumvent the government’s lockdown.

Yue downloaded the app from some online drive. Then he called Jason into the room. Jason started sending messages ordering products from some stores. The store answered back with mundane questions about delivery locations and dates, product conditions, quantity, or quality. Coded messages?

I am starting to realize more and more what it means to be a prince. Who is he running from?

“We learned a few things about what is happening outside. Finishing the mission might be more difficult than we thought.” Yue looked at the messages being sent back. “Let's go talk to everyone else.”

—-----------------

Heilong

It's been more than a month since that dome went up around the city. I am sure that Jason will be fine, he managed to become a shadow at the age of 13. There is no one in the history of our family more talented than him. And now the dome has disappeared, then a gigantic dragon of legends came out of the hole in the sky. What is happening to the world? What happened inside the dome?

The scent of jasmine tea calms my agitated mind. The ducal family is safe in this mansion, but the missing prince is still a concern. Our family can not afford to lose him. We have not had such a capable prince since even before the empire fell. The prince can revive the dukedom. Even if we have to sacrifice everyone else, he alone must survive.

“Hei.” A tired voice came from behind me. The Grand Duke. He has weakened in the last month. The prince going missing has affected him more than anyone. The ducal family has no future without the heir. “How is the search going?”

“Grand Duke, the government has curtained off the entire jungle. Our people inside the government have sent reports.” I handed him the report and stood on duty. The Grand Duke smiled and motioned for me to sit next to him.

“They can't enter? The dome disappeared but they can't enter the jungle?” The Grand Duke seems agitated.

“They are studying the jungle at the moment. Everything inside is alien to Earth, and the jungle itself is spreading. ” I have lived a long life, but a century of experience can not help me here. “Troops were sent inside but they never returned.”

“That's not surprising considering what the world saw in the sky last night.” The Grand Duke looks out the window towards the massive jungle city in the distance. The appearance of the legendary dragons has made headlines all across the globe. Multiple metropolitan around the world were isolated inside these mysterious domes, but the dragons only appear here. Fortunately, they flew away somewhere and did not cause havoc.

“Ming, you must rest. When did you last eat?” He is killing himself with worry.

“.........do you remember the day we came here?” He continues to look at the jungle.

“.........yea.” Hard to forget the day I lost my brother and the woman I love.

“Why did you do that?”

“...........”

Knock knock knock knock knock.

“Come in.” Five knocks, it's urgent.

“Grand Duke, Lord Shadow.” One of the shadows came in, she was breathing heavily. “Ha, ha, excuse me, ha.”

“Calm down girl. Breathe deep and make your report.” The new generations have lived a peaceful life. They lack the edge we need in a shadow, but I am happy that we were able to give them this life. The Grand Duke only looks at her with affection.

“Ah, yes, sir, ha, ha.” She places a hand on her breast and breathes deeply. She took out a note. “Excuse me, we have received contact from Jason, sir.”

“.......” I couldn't help but stand up from my seat. So, my grandson survived. Of course, he did.

“He is with the prince, but it seems they can not leave the city. The coded message is a bit unclear but he mentioned some kind of blockade.” The girl looked startled by something and then lowered her eyes.

“Good. Thank you for your work. Return and rest, also burn that note.” I dismiss the girl before turning to see the Grand Duke with tears running down his face.

“Yue is alive.” This is the first time the Grand Duke has smiled in the last month.

“That's good news, however the blockade that she mentioned. It seems those dogs in the government are showing hostility to the survivors instead of trying to rescue them.” A century has passed but government dogs are still the same.

“Do what you need to do, even if we must go to war. I give you full permission.” The Grand Duke said before leaving my study. “Hei, bring him home.”

“The shadows obey.”