[ Congratulations, host have successfully completed Initial Body Refinement. ]
Jenna lay there, cheek pressed against the floor, hair plastered to her face. She was breathing like a fish deprived of water.
"…Initial?" she croaked weakly. "What does body refinery even mean?"
[ Refinement.]
It corrected.
Jenna couldn't glare now. She was exhausted from the inside out. Her entire body trembled, not from pain anymore, but from the aftermath. Like her nerves were recalibrating. She slowly pushed herself upright, only to realize that her toe no longer hurt.
She rolled up her sleeve and peeled off the dirty, sticky gauze covering the injury from her elbow to her arm and found no more injuries.
To be honest, she expected healing, since the System already told her the function of the fountain of life, but what she didn't understand was the 'rigorous exercise' her bones went through.
She legit thought she was shapeshifting!
"Explain what just happened. The refinery—"
[ Refinement.]
"Correct me one more time and see what happens," she hissed.
The System buzzed slightly, almost as if it was rebelling. Then stopped and replied.
[Host skeletal alignment optimized. Bone density increased. Toxin cleared 47%.]
She shook her head, "Explain it to me in human language."
[ Your body was cleaned and upgraded. ]
Jenna stared at the panel flatly. "…That's still not human enough."
[ In Layman Language. ]
[ Over time, human bodies accumulate toxins, micro-damage, inflammation, diseases, waste, and more. These reduce performance and durability. ]
Jenna slowly lowered herself to sit properly, still wary that something might snap again, even though she felt flexible and lightweight.
[ The refinement process removed impurities from blood and tissue, strengthened body constitution, and increased stamina.]
[ Host's future is boundless.]
She subconsciously straightened. She loved the sound of that.
In her past life, she wasn't strong, her strength was average. No matter how hard she tried to be, no matter how much she trained, how much she pushed herself, her body had limits she could never break free from.
Her body constitution had never been great, plus slow recovery, lingering fatigue, injuries that never fully healed before the next crisis arrived. Everything piled up, making her situation worse.
She survived by thinking faster, running earlier, hiding better. Just sheer luck in escaping troubles.
But strength?
Strength had never been hers.
However, things are looking to be different now.
She giggled.
With her current body, Invisibility ability, and the guaranteed 73% survival chance the System promised her, she was sure that she and her siblings would see the end of the apocalypse.
For this reason, the pain of body refinement didn't feel so unbearable anymore.
[ Host may take a bath and exit the space. System needs to upgrade.]
…
When Jenna reappeared inside the restroom, she looked clean, radiant, fit, like she'd been hitting the gym all her life.
She felt like she could battle a bull and win.
She giggled, gave herself another look in the mirror before stepping out.
Chaos.
It hit her all at once, as though she'd stepped into a war torn city.
Alarms were still blaring across Eon. Lights and cameras were still down, and there wasn't any missing action.
People ran like headless chicken.
It would be surprising if they didn't, considering what had disappeared right in front of their eyes.
Billion worth of inventory!
Jenna stood by the entrance of the wing, forcing herself not to laugh.
Now, it was time to leave. But before that, she needed to find that big brother and thank him. If he hadn't let her in, she wouldn't have succeeded so easily.
She went in search of him, but after asking around, no one wanted to respond, or rather, they had no idea who she was describing, so most ignored her, and others didn't even bother entertaining her, until she heard authoritative shouts coming from the warehouse.
She went over for the gossip, but found the subject of her search.
He stood in the empty warehouse, shoulders rigid, head slightly bowed as a crowd of men and women in corporate attire circled him like vultures.
Some were security teams, some were executives, others were officers.
"As the head of security, how do you explain what happened here, Viktor Hill?!" A female executive yelled, gesturing wildly at the empty warehouse.
His name was Viktor Hill.
He didn't answer immediately.
His jaw was tight, hands clasped behind his back in rigid discipline.
"I've already submitted a preliminary report," he said evenly. "There was a cyber attack. And inventory vanished into thin air."
He frowned, obviously aware of how insane that sounded the moment it left his mouth.
A sharp, disbelieving laugh cut through the air.
"Vanished?" the female executive repeated, her heels clicking aggressively against the sparkling floor as she stepped closer. "Mr. Hill, this isn't a magic show."
"It isn't. But unfortunately, that was what happened."
An uncomfortable silence descended. They all knew he was telling the truth, but who would believe it?
Mr. Benjamin Churchill, who just lost his daughter and billions of Zubi wouldn't. Their important clients wouldn't. Investors wouldn't. Not to talk of those in the White House.
How could they?
They have lost billions. Fucking hundreds of billions evaporated into the air just like that.
It was insane!
Such a case has never been reported, so no one would believe it.
That was why, the only way to save their necks would be to pin this on someone.
And unfortunately, Viktor Hill was the most convenient someone.
The woman continued, jaw hardening, "There were custom orders scheduled to be shipped to the White House tomorrow," she paused. "Do you understand what that means?"
The air felt heavier.
Viktor met her gaze. "I understand the gravity—"
"Do you?" she cut in, still calm. "Because from where I'm standing, it looks like the man in charge of protecting those assets lost them."
"It wasn't a breach from inside," Viktor insisted. "All systems failed simultaneously. There was no sign of an attack. That level of coordination requires—"
"Co-operation." She cuts in.
Every eye turned to Viktor.
Viktor Hill paused, as if he finally got the gist, he frowned. "Are you accusing me of something, Miss Wales?"
Those security men who witnessed the nightmare frowned. They weren't dumb. If Viktor was wrongfully accused, they would suffer along with him, after all, they were a team.
Jenna understood this too. The executives would undoubtedly want a scapegoat since they couldn't find a better explanation.
She felt bad for him, really.
The man was innocent, and for helping her get into the warehouse, she shouldn't let him suffer.
However, Jenna wasn't about to go in there and tell everyone, "Hey, I'm the culprit!"
No way!
Instead, she mumbled to herself, "I'm sorry, Big brother, I'll need you to stay behind bars for a day or two or a week. Just that long. I'll surely get you out and repay your noble sacrifice in the apocalypse."
Perhaps, she jinxed him, a man said, adjusting his glasses, "Until we determine the cause, Mr. Hill, you and your team will be handed over to the authorities."
Jenna winced.
But the next second, the same villainess, Miss Wales, opened her gutter mouth again.
"And that Churchill girl you spoke of, where is she? I'm guessing she also has a hand in—"
Jenna didn't wait to hear the rest.
She fled.
If only she knew what she was flying towards.