[14th April 2024]

While Evan dashed out of his house in the morning, another individual also emerged from his home, though his reasons were unclear. However, they shared the same destination: the abandoned factory.

The second person approaching the factory was none other than Rey Dragonstorm, our sidekick, who was headed there for reasons unknown.

Meanwhile, inside the factory, a different kind of chaos was unfolding. The thugs were being berated by their boss, Jacob, who was yelling at them for reasons unknown.

"You are all such incompetent fools; I've been raising you for years, and yet you can't complete a single task," he bellowed in frustration.

"Tell me, did that kid or his friend show up at their school or not?" Jacob demanded, inquiring about two teenagers.

And perhaps both you and I know who he is referring to.

Yes, they are Rey and Evan, who are now approaching him or this area.

"Boss, we've left some people behind to watch the kids' house and have discovered that neither of them went home today. One even mentioned that the friends of that thief kid left while crying, possibly due to a fight with the parents or something," one of them reported as he relayed all the information, he received from his comrade who was keeping an eye on Evan.

"Oh, so means that the rat is already on its way toward our trap huh. Just catch him up and take him to me when he is alone in public as I don't want any issue and when got that other kid, then after taking what he stole from him. Add both of them to the batch and send them away as maybe they will be happy with two more resource." Jacob said with a devilish face as he went back and all those also went to their post of security as today the shipment of order was about to be dispatch tonight.

A group of thugs decided to kidnap another child for leverage.

They rushed off toward the location where his accomplice had seen him.

Meanwhile, Evan was sitting in a park that was mostly deserted except for a few passersby.

"I'll have to hide all day from my loved ones and head to that place under cover of darkness to avoid detection," Evan muttered to himself as he sat cautiously. Unbeknownst to him, he had already attracted the attention of some individuals who had been observing him for a while.

If you're wondering why he left at this time instead of the evening, it's because he suspected that his aunt or uncle might insist on accompanying him to bid farewell, which he wanted to avoid. So, he chose to leave in the morning and wait until nightfall.

He needed to stay vigilant and avoid being recognized by anyone familiar, such as his aunt and uncle, or any schoolmates, staff, or neighbors.

Neighbors may be deceived, but his family and friends will not be.

Deciding to seek solitude, he wandered the park until he found a sparsely populated spot.

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There, the benches were spaced far apart from each other.

He took out his phone, having already inserted the SIM card for optimal performance.

As he closed the case and turned it on, messages flooded in from his aunt and his friend James.

Engrossed in his phone, he failed to notice that he had been under surveillance for quite some time.

Indeed, they were the men Jacob had assigned to monitor him.

Initially alone, now several had joined the first after being informed of his whereabouts.

Unbeknownst to Evan, his desire for this place, and all his efforts to reach it, might have been destiny's design.

He was absorbed in watching videos when abruptly, one of the thugs approached and stood before him.

Initially, Evan didn't notice the person, but his gaze was drawn to their legs. As he looked up, the figure threw a strange chemical at his face. Evan, who was seated, was taken aback and tried to dodge the liquid, but it was too fast, and it splashed onto his face.

"What the hell, dude? You think this is a prank?" Evan shouted, standing up aggressively to confront him. But suddenly, his legs weakened, and a wave of dizziness clouded his vision.

He was startled and tried to keep his eyes open, but sadly, he couldn't and fell back onto the bench.

The man who threw the object signaled his comrades to come and take him.

They approached and, with great effort, lifted him like they were carrying away a patient.

When nearby people noticed and asked what happened, they explained that they had found him asleep and couldn't wake him, even after sprinkling water on his face.

The onlookers saw the water droplets on his t-shirt and believed their story, allowing them to leave.

They easily took him to their car, placed him in the back seat, and started driving towards the factory where their boss had requested this man.

"Well, today's work was quite easy, wasn't it?" one remarked, sitting beside Evan, who was now asleep.

"Yes, because this guy couldn't even resist. The chemical they gave us is so potent that normal people lose consciousness within a few seconds, and martial warriors of lower stages take at least a few minutes," the other said while driving.

Unbeknownst to them, the man they had apprehended was armed with a weapon.

They arrived at the location and entered through the back gate.

Dragging him out, they threw him into the factory to present him to their boss.

Jacob, seething with anger, glanced at his henchmen and the man they had brought in, who was being carried like a hefty sack of grain.

"Oh, so you've completed your task, huh? Good, good," Jacob remarked as he observed the boy's face, who was now sleeping as if without a care in the world.

"How much did you spray on him?" he inquired, as the thugs turned to the one who had done the spraying.

"Boss, I sprayed just a bit, like a spit on him. Maybe he'll wake up soon," he replied, prompting Jacob to nod and order them to tie the man to a chair.

Yet, the machine remained uncaptured, and they left him there alone.

Meanwhile, outside, a teenager was attempting to peer over the factory walls, seemingly in search of something.

And if someone were to see him, they might recognize him as Rey, who was now carrying a large bag and beginning to walk towards the back of the factory walls, perhaps in search of something.

But Rey was unaware that his friend Evan was being held hostage inside, and there was a slim chance he might find and even rescue him from the clutches of the thugs.

-- To be continued --

Author's Note: Apologies if you find this chapter a bit rushed; I'm just too excited for the upcoming parts where he gets teleported. Stay tuned! It's too exciting to miss, so make sure to add it to your library to get notified as soon as possible.