By 3:28 p.m., the sweltering heat of the afternoon was the least of my concerns as I arrived at the heart of the commotion: the sprawling Research and Development Building.
"Whooaaa, holy crap," I muttered under my breath, squinting against the glare of the polished glass structure. "Look at the sheer size of this crowd. Guess I'll look around a bit."
The dense sea of citizens was buzzing with an electric, anxious energy. Snippets of frantic whispers cut through the ambient noise of the courtyard.
"Look over there! They're from the Eldragy Family!"
"Not just the Eldragys—look right up at the front! The Zhangs and the Voyas are also here to awaken their successors!"
"It must be fate for all of these big shots to gather on the exact same day. Do you think they coordinated this? Like, did they plan to have their babies at the exact same time? No way, right..."
"Shh! Quiet down! Someone's coming from the sidelines. Look!"
"Am I imagining things? Holy shit... that's the Dadaly Family arriving. Wow."
"No way... is our dome about to get another legendary, immortal human? This has to be a destiny arranged by the Gods themselves."
Listening to the crowd lose their collective minds, I couldn't help but sneer internally. I actually couldn't believe it. Every single heavyweight successor in the district was under one roof today. Back in my day, when I took my own aptitude test in a cold, sterile room, there wasn't a single high-society bastard in sight. Destiny arranged by the Gods? Please. I bet those elite parents just got incredibly high after some exclusive gala and ended up throwing a massive orgy. Kehh, hehe.
But truth be told, seeing the Dadaly banner in person was something else. They were the premier lineage that single-handedly funded and spearheaded the original DNA research, producing the first-ever documented superhumans. Must be nice inheriting a pedigree like that.
As for the persistent rumors regarding the current Head of the Dadaly Family being completely immortal? Those mindless eggheads in the crowd could believe whatever slop they wanted. Didn't they receive basic education? Every single awakened trait carries a brutal side effect. For the Dadaly lineage, that side effect was notoriously the worst of all: they aggressively traded away their own natural lifespan for raw, explosive power. Immortal? Give me a break. They were just nuts. I'd bet a full gold piece that within the next decade, the current head of Dadaly would be hosting a massive funeral instead of celebrating eternal youth. Fuck these block-headed idiots!
Nonetheless, watching those wealthy children get escorted toward the entrance brought back a fleeting, bitter memory of my own test. Back then, I still harbored grand illusions of becoming a great historical figure, conquering the world outside the dome. How sweet innocence is.
TRINGGG!
"AahHH, fuckkk!" A sudden, sharp spike of agony pierced right behind my eyes. The familiar, agonizing headache came roaring back. Even though I never stopped active mental processing, my trait always demanded its toll. Shit... need to buy another pack of cigarettes. Shit, it hurts. I absolutely hate this trait sometimes.
As I fumbled with a fresh cigarette, trying to ignore the pulsing rhythm in my skull, a woman elegantly cut through the crowd, flanked by a towering personal bodyguard. I irritatedly exhaled a plume of smoke. Why the hell is this bitch walking right into the line of smoke?
"Cough... Are you Mr. Edgar?" she asked. Her voice was remarkably polite, smooth, and refined. "I am Lisa Choi. Pleased to meet you."
"Ah, yes. That's me," I replied, quickly shifting into my rehearsed, subservient persona. "May I have the pleasure of knowing what I owe Lady Lisa for recognizing someone as lowly as myself?"
Lisa Choi. I racked my brain, but I couldn't recall ever crossing paths with her. Yet, the surname Choi echoed with a sudden, sickening familiarity. Wait... a kid... the naive kid from the coffee shop earlier today. David Choi.
Oh, for fuck's sake. I extorted 20 silver from him. Don't tell me—!
"Judging by your expression, I assume you already know exactly why I've been looking for you, Mr. Edgar," she said, her lips curling into a breath-takingly beautiful smile.
But my trait didn't lie. Beneath that flawless, serene exterior, I could sense her underlying brainwaves vibrating with a cold, lethal precision. I knew instantly that if I uttered a single wrong word, I might never live to see the sun rise tomorrow.
"I-I apologize, my lady!" Without a single shred of hesitation, I dropped straight onto my knees, bending over to press my palms to the pavement. "This lowly one was just trying to scrape together a miserable living! I only took twenty silver from the boy. If it pleases you, I will return a full gold piece right now as a formal apology! And I guarantee, I swear on my life, this is the absolute last time I will ever commit such an inappropriate act! Please, have mercy, my lady!"
What did you expect me to do? Fight? I'm not some legendary protagonist from an ancient historical manhua who can slay a God through sheer, unyielding bravery. I am a street hypnotist with a bruised stomach. Fuck.
"Oho, my, my," she murmured, shielding her mouth with a delicate hand. "I certainly didn't mean to cause you such distress, Mr. Edgar. I value human life just as much as I value my own children. It just so happens that you decided to prey on my son. What am I to do? I am a remarkably kind person, though."
She looked down at me with that same terrifyingly placid smile. I'm dead. I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm absolutely dead—
"Please, my lady! I will do anything within my power for you. Just please, let me go this once!" I internally screamed into the void. C'mon, Lucy, Rai... someone, anyone, please pop out of nowhere and get me out of this! Just somebody!
"Anything?" Lisa pondered, tilting her head as she let the word hang in the air. "Well, I suppose I can consider your sincerity. Hmm... wait. Come to think of it, I actually happen to have a job opening that is perfectly suited for your specific talents. Please arrive tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. sharp at this address."
She reached down, slipping a crisp, high-end business card between my trembling fingers. Printed on the matte surface was her name: Lisa Choi, Director of CAD Solutions Ltd.
Shit. She wasn't just some ordinary suburban mother. It was my own utter carelessness that made me assume the Choi bloodline was a minor, struggling family similar to the Lankats. How on earth had I never looked into the corporate connection between the Choi lineage and the CAD Conglomerate before? Curse my stupid, lazy brain.
"With utmost pleasure, my lady," I forced out, keeping my head bowed. "I will be there exactly at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow."
"Excellent. See you tomorrow, Mr. Edgar," she said smoothly, turning on her heel and walking away, her bodyguard trailing closely behind.
Just like that? She just left? I blinked, staring at the pavement. She hadn't even bothered to plant a tracking device or a magical marker on me. Stupid whore. Who in their right mind would willingly walk into an unknown corporate stronghold all by himself after committing a crime against the director's son?
Just curse your own bad luck, lady. I'm not going anywhere near that building. I made a mental reservation right then and there: for the next seven days, I was transforming into a complete shut-in. I wasn't stepping a single foot out of my lovely, locked apartment. Curse that bitch.
But before heading back to my flat, I looked around the darkening streets. The plaza was still buzzing. Why should I leave all this free gold and silver scattering around the district? Hahaha.
After that nightmarish encounter, I shook off the terror and utilized the late hours to the absolute fullest. I jumped from shop to shop, alleyway to alleyway, identifying countless innocent, anxious teenagers waiting around for the secondary testing shifts. Hehe. At this rate, I'd be filthy rich before the local security forces even realized a hypnotist was working the crowd.
Kringg!
My wrist alarm blared sharply. 11:00 p.m. The very last transit train out of the district was scheduled for 11:30 p.m.
"I should hurry to the nearest station," I muttered, picking up my pace and slipping into the shadows of the pedestrian walkway. Bwahaha, how is getting money this damn easy? Kehh. Choosing to become a street hypnotist was the greatest executive decision I've ever made.
As I hurried down the steps toward the transit terminal, I reached into my coat and began counting the thick stack of currency I had accumulated over the course of the day.
Five... ten... twenty-three...
"Twenty-three Gold pieces?!" My eyes nearly popped out of my head. "And eighty-seven Silver on top of that?!"
I let out a breathless, ecstatic laugh in the middle of the empty station corridor. Hahaha! I struck it rich! Twenty-three gold and eighty-seven silver in a single day?! How incredible am I?! I always knew deep down that I was destined for absolute greatness.
Tomorrow, I'd skip that corporate meeting entirely, head to the high-end district to buy a tailored, incredibly cool suit, and purchase an entire month's supply of premium meat for my upcoming shut-in plan. Hehe. I'm so smart. A literal genius. All hail Edgar. All hail Edgar.
Those were the last moments I remember...