Chapter 196: Arriving At The Organization
Chapter 196
Inside the chopper, Carl leaned slightly toward the window and looked at Alex with what looked like curiosity written all over his face.
"So this is the guy we’re supposed to pick up? Well, he does look really handsome. Like one of those drop dead gorgeous male supermodels from the cover of Vogue magazine."
His eyes moved over Alex again.
"But aside from his face, I don’t really feel anything special from him. I can’t even sense his Realm. Are you sure the higher-ups didn’t make a mistake and call this guy an Awakened?"
Claire slowly lowered her book and turned her head toward Alex. The movement caused her fiery red hair to shift just a little bit across her shoulder as she stared at him for several seconds. Then she snorted.
"Oh, he’s an Awakened alright." She said in a tone that couldn’t hide her irritation. "He is the same Vanguard Realm Awakened Phil and I met at the station."
Carl blinked.
"The station?"
"Did I not just say it? Yes, the station. He was acting like he owned the place just because he’s the little man of that self-entitled woman, Nyx."
Carl’s eyes widened.
"Wait." He looked at Alex again. "This guy is Nyx’s man? Like the underworld queenpin Nyx? The same woman who’s considered like one of the most beautiful women in the world? That Nyx?"
Claire’s eyebrow twitched.
"How many Nyxes do you know in this city?"
Carl opened his mouth.
"Well, I mean.."
"Of course it’s that Nyx. Now stop asking all these annoying questions."
"Oh." Carl looked back at Alex with an entirely different expression.."Damn. What a lucky guy."
Claire’s eyes moved toward him, and the moment he noticed that look of hers, he froze. Though Claire didn’t say a word, the meaning behind her stare was obvious enough to even a two year old kid.
It was like she was saying with her eyes, say one more thing and I’ll turn you into a kebab.
Carl swallowed hard before forcing out a dry smile.
"...I won’t say anything again."
Meanwhile, back outside the man in the long coat stood there for a moment, and his expression gradually began changing as he looked at Alex.
"You’re..." His eyes widened slightly. "It’s you?"
Alex blinked.
The man’s surprise was obvious enough that Alex couldn’t help scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
"Yeah. It’s me."
The man stared at him for another few seconds before letting out a quiet laugh.
"Honestly, I thought it was going to be someone else. I never expected the person they wanted us to recruit would actually be you."
Alex’s expression became slightly complicated.
He remembered this man very well.
He had first encountered him beside Olivia’s house, and later at the police station when he and Jade had been arrested because of the entire Kade family incident. Back then, he had clearly told him that he wasn’t interested in joining the organization.
Yet here he was now, standing in front of the man as the person that was going to join the same organization he had outrightly rejected at first
It was sort of a little embarrassing if you think about it. Thankfully, the man seemed not to notice his awkwardness and continued speaking.
"Well, I suppose things turned out differently than I expected."
His gaze moved over Alex for a moment before he nodded approvingly.
"Having a Vanguard Realm Awakened like you join the team isn’t going to change everything much, but it will still be enough to increase our overall combat strength. Especially considering the fact that you’re a double-ability Awakened. With both very useful abilities."
Alex’s eyebrows twitched.
Vanguard? That was a while back, now he was no longer a Vanguard. He had already reached the Ascendant Realm.
However, after thinking that the silver haired lady apparently hadn’t told others about his specific Realm, Alex decided that there was no reason to correct him.
"Thanks," Alex simply replied.
The man nodded and then added.
"Before we leave for our headquarters, I just need to confirm something real quick." He extended his hand. "The token."
Alex immediately understood what he meant.
He secretly pretended as if reaching into his pocket but he opened his spatial storage space and retrieved the black token the silver-haired woman had given him the previous evening. It’s not like he had anything against keeping it in his pocket, but he just wanted the token to be in a more secure place.
The moment the man saw it, his expression became slightly more serious. He took the token from Alex and carefully examined the strange markings engraved across its surface just to be sure it was genuine, before turning it over several times.
After confirming its authenticity, he returned it.
"Everything checks out."
Alex slipped the token back into his pocket this time and asked.
"So are we leaving now or do I wait till tomorrow?"
"That’s right. We’re leaving now." Then the man turned toward the helicopter and called out.
"Come on. Everyone’s waiting for us."
Alex followed him toward the aircraft.
As he approached, he noticed that the three passengers he had seen earlier were still inside. The woman with fiery red hair was seated beside the young man, while the pilot remained at the front.
The moment Alex stepped closer, the red-haired woman looked directly at him and then her eyes turned fierce.
Sheesh, why was she staring at him with such a hateful gaze. Oh! Now he remembered. She was the same fiery haired, hot tempered beautiful woman he had encountered at the station that day. The same woman who had been standing alongside this man and got roasted badly by Nyx.
The woman stared at him for another second before seemingly deciding that he wasn’t worth her attention anymore. Then she snorted quietly and returned her attention back to the book in her hands.
Alex didn’t say anything. After all, what was even there to say. He just ignored her and entered the helicopter. The young man with decent features, who was sitting directly opposite him, immediately shifted slightly to make room.
From this distance it was easy to see that he had light brown hair and hazel-brown eyes, and unlike the red-haired woman, he seemed far more approachable.
As soon as Alex sat down, the young man raised his hand with a friendly smile and said warm heartedly.
"Hey, I’m Carl."
Alex looked at his extended hand before deciding to accept it since the man didn’t look that bad. After shaking Alex’s hand, Carl pointed toward the man in the long coat who had just taken his seat.
"And that guy you just met earlier is Phil."
Phil gave Alex a brief nod. Carl then pointed toward the red-haired woman. "And the fiery, hot-tempered goddess over there is Claire."
Claire’s eyes slowly lifted from her book. Carl immediately lowered his hand.
"She really is a..."
Claire stared at him, as if daring him to continue that sentence, making Carl give a fake cough and hurriedly change the subject.
"Anyway, what about you?"
Alex couldn’t help finding the exchange slightly amusing.
"I’m Alex. Nice to meet you by the way."
Carl’s smile widened.
"Nice to meet you too."
For several seconds, the atmosphere remained surprisingly peaceful. That was until Carl’s curiosity apparently became too much for him.
"So... I just wanted to know. Please, is it true that you and Nyx are dating?"
The instant those words left his mouth, Claire’s hand moved and landed directly against the back of Carl’s head.
"Ouch! Ouch!"
Carl immediately grabbed the back of his head and glared at her.
"What was that for?"
"Say one more word and you’re becoming a kebab this very minute."
Carl’s mouth opened slightly. He looked at Claire, then at Alex. Then back at Claire.
"...Never mind."
He said like a deflated balloon and quietly swallowed whatever else he had intended to say.
Alex’s mouth twitched. He couldn’t help feeling slightly grateful for Claire’s timely intervention. That question had come completely out of nowhere.
Before Alex could say anything else, a familiar voice suddenly echoed inside his mind.
[I’m really psyched to see the place where we’ll be looking for potential wifey material.]
Just as he was about to say something, the helicopter soon began getting ready for take off.
The pilot first made sure to check all the instruments before starting the engines, and the familiar mechanical roar of the powerful chopper gradually became louder inside the cabin.
The powerful blades above them began spinning faster. And before long the helicopter lifted from the ground, rising smoothly into the dark sky.
Alex remained seated quietly while the city gradually became smaller beneath them. Carl would occasionally glance at him, seemingly still curious, but Claire’s earlier warning had apparently convinced him to keep his mouth shut.
Phil remained calm as he watched the scenery outside. While Claire herself didn’t bother paying him any attention, she had returned back to reading her book.
Alex found himself glancing at her several times. It wasn’t because he had suddenly fallen for her or anything. He was simply wondering whether she would be worth adding to his harem if the opportunity ever presented itself.
Sure she had the looks and figure, but he knew almost nothing about her ability beyond the fact that it was related to fire.
However, he didn’t attempt to think any further. There were going to be many opportunities later on to find out what her ability was.
Instead, he leaned back in his seat. The city gradually disappeared behind them as they traveled farther and farther away from the central districts.
Alex wasn’t exactly sure where the organization’s facility was located. The silver-haired woman hadn’t really told him anything. She had simply said that someone would come and pick him up.
Now that he was finally on his way there, he realized that he was actually curious about what kind of organization could possess enough resources to operate military-grade helicopters while remaining almost completely hidden from the public.
From everything he had seen so far, it clearly wasn’t some ordinary government department.
The existence of powerful Awakeneds alone meant that its operations had to be on another level entirely.
Alex rested his head against the seat and continued watching the scenery through the window.
After some time, the constant breeze from moving at such speed and the quiet atmosphere inside the cabin began to make him feel slightly sleepy.
His eyelids gradually became heavier, and then he decided to just close his eyes for a while until they finally arrived at their destination.
He didn’t completely fall asleep, but he drifted into a comfortable state of half-consciousness as the helicopter continued flying. It was always good to remain alert just in case of anything.
Several minutes soon passed, and by the time Alex slowly opened his eyes once again, something outside the window immediately caught his attention.
He turned his head. And at first, he thought they were simply flying over another section of the city. But as the helicopter moved farther in, Alex realized that wasn’t the case.
There was an enormous body of water beneath them. So it was an island.
Alex’s eyes narrowed slightly in awe. He had to say, the island was really massive, and unlike the ordinary islands he had seen before, this one appeared to have been heavily modified.
Large structures could be seen scattered across its surface, with roads connecting different sections and numerous security facilities positioned around the perimeter.
The entire place looked less like an ordinary island and more like a heavily fortified military zone. Where instead of the military there were Awakeneds.
Alex slowly sat upright.
"So that’s where they’re based?"
He didn’t realize he had spoken aloud until Carl glanced toward him.
"Pretty impressive, right?"
Alex nodded.
"Yeah."
Carl smiled.
"You haven’t even seen the main facility yet."
Alex looked forward. As the helicopter continued approaching the island, more of the central structure gradually came into view.
And when Alex finally saw it clearly, even he couldn’t help being impressed.
At the very center of the island stood a massive building that looked straight out of a Sci-fi movie.
The building was unlike anything Alex had seen before in his entire life, with its enormous structure stretched across a vast portion of the island, surrounded by multiple layers of security walls and landing areas.
The central facility alone was so wide that its size appeared to be roughly twice the size of a standard football stadium, with several enormous sections extending outward from its core.
Alex stared through the window as the helicopter flew directly toward the massive government island and its futuristic facility at the center.