Chapter 38: Starting Over
"Help... someone, please!"
In the dead silence of Rockhill Valley, a cry for help came from an elderly woman, pulling Alex's attention away from the letter in his hands. He rushed toward the sound.
When Alex followed the voice down the street, he found an elderly blind woman sitting in a wheelchair, frantically calling for help. He approached and asked, "Ma'am, what happened?"
The woman trembled as she pointed to a pile of stones nearby. "Someone's trapped under there... help them!"
Alex looked and saw that it was none other than his close friend, Max, pinned beneath a large rock. Panic surged through him as he immediately knelt by Max and called out to him. "Max! Are you alright? What happened?"
Max weakly extended one hand, barely able to speak. "I'm... I'm not going to make it... Maggie... Maggie's been taken... they took her to Byut... you have to go save her..."
Hearing Maggie's name, Alex's heart raced with anxiety, but right now, he had to save Max. With all his strength, Alex tried to move the massive stone, but it wouldn't budge. The rock was far too large for him to move on his own.
"Damn it! What do I do? What do I do?"
Seeing Max weakening by the second, Alex desperately realized he hadn't been using his energy. "Energy! I forgot to use my energy!"
Sweat pouring down his face, Alex focused and tried to move the stone using his energy. But his beginner-level energy was far too weak, and despite his best efforts—his body growing weaker and blood leaking from his eyes—the rock stayed in place.
Finally, Max's hand fell, and in that moment, he passed away.
Watching his friend die before his eyes, Alex couldn't accept it. All he could do was cry out in anguish and pound the ground in frustration.
"Why, Alex?! Why couldn't you break through your limits?! If you’d only pushed yourself to the first level of energy... you could've moved the stone! You could’ve saved everyone! Damn it!"
Alex beat himself mercilessly, as if punishing himself for his failure, overwhelmed with guilt and pain.
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That evening, Alex buried his parents’ bodies in the glow-in-the-dark garden at the bottom of Rockhill Valley. His eyes were empty as he folded a paper boat and placed it into the waterfall, watching it drift downstream, as if taking away his past self.
Clutching a sweater tightly, Alex silently bid farewell to his parents' graves.
"Goodbye, Mom, Dad. I’m leaving..."
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The next day, Alex pushed the elderly woman in her wheelchair, with Judy by his side, out of the now ruined Rockhill Valley. They made their way to a large tree on the surface. He turned to Judy and said,
"We should part ways here."
Judy was taken aback, not understanding, as just the day before they were together, and she had no idea where they were heading next.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
"You want me to leave? Out here on the surface, we'll be hunted by the machines! Even if we're not killed, I heard they'll use us as bio-batteries... No way! I’m sticking with you!"
Sighing, Alex replied, "I got drunk last night, and that’s why this happened. I think you’re a great person, but I’m not worthy of being with you. The road ahead, I have to walk it alone. I can’t risk your safety... or the old woman’s. Go to the Terra Bunker."
Judy looked at him thoughtfully, her eyes deep with understanding. After a moment, she nodded without further argument, "Alright... I won’t pressure you. I'll take the old woman to the Terra Bunker, but you promise me you’ll come find me there!"
Alex gave a reluctant nod. And so, he watched Judy and the elderly woman leave. Deep down, he knew what he had to do next.
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After the three mechanical cities, "Nests," left Rockhill Valley, they made their way to Ubit. Nest No. 3, Medusa, sent a biomechanical human holding the unconscious Maggie into the core of Nest No. 7, Ares, and eventually imprisoned Maggie near Dr. Gaya’s location.
This capture mission wasn’t deemed successful, and Ares, the intelligent brain of Nest No. 7, questioned Medusa, Hades, and Michael, the three intelligent brains:
"Why didn’t you capture Alex?"
Medusa coldly replied, "I don’t know. We didn’t find Alex in that shelter. We killed everyone else, and we brought this human back, who might be related to Alex."
As an intelligent brain of the mechanical city, Ares was unsure whether to reprimand the three for their incompetence, but it was clear that Michael, from Nest No. 8, had never sent any mechanical units to assist with the mission. Ares questioned Michael:
"Why didn’t you do anything?"
Michael, who disliked hunting humans, could only make an excuse:
"I thought Nests 3 and 4 were more than enough to handle these humans. I figured I could just watch from the sidelines..."
Ares was displeased with Michael's passive attitude. As an intelligent machine, Michael’s lack of concern for humans irritated Ares. It sternly warned Michael:
"If you, as an intelligent machine, don’t take this seriously, then we don’t need you. We can have Gabriel replace you! You know it’s that easy—think carefully!"
Despite the harsh warning, Michael remained silent, offering no response. He didn’t want to be like the other cold, methodical intelligent brains. He just wanted to be himself, so without another word, he set off alone toward the north, deciding to distance himself from these obedient machines controlled by Gabriel.
He wanted to follow his own path.
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After parting ways with Judy, Alex found himself in a forest, where snow began to fall from the sky.
Sitting by the campfire, he stared at a sweater for a long time. This sweater was the one Maggie had made for him after spending a long time working on it.
The day he watched Max die, the old woman had tried to cover him with the sweater to comfort him. That’s when he noticed the name stitched into the fabric.
"Alex Hawk"
Looking at the name, memories with Maggie flashed through his mind. He finally realized that Maggie had always been by his side because she liked him.
"Fool... Why didn’t you tell me?"
At this moment, Alex deeply regretted not realizing it sooner, but it was too late to change anything. He tightly gripped the sweater. The only thing he could do now was to get stronger and save Maggie.
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The next day, Alex prepared to attempt calling the smartwatch, Ray, but this time, the smartwatch did not respond.
"Ray... can you talk to me?... Please..."
No matter how much Alex begged, the smartwatch on his left wrist remained dim, unresponsive, as if it were just an ordinary watch.
After calling out multiple times with no response, Alex sank into despair and sat down.
"Sigh... As expected..."
He had hoped for a miracle, thinking Ray might just be playing games, not actually ignoring him. He knew Ray had warned him before, and it was his own stubbornness that caused Ray to lose faith in him. There was no excuse now. It was too late, and Alex would have to rely on himself.
Even though the road ahead seemed incredibly difficult, Alex tried to shake off his disappointment. He stood up and, with a determined look, forced himself to think positively:
"Alright... Alex, from now on, it’s just you. No more complaints... No more giving up!"