The moment the trio left the checkpoint, their expressions turned serious. They knew that they didn’t have much time, and it was hard to tell how much of it they actually had.
All they could do was their best.
The first priority was to get an understanding of the current layout of the city. The perimeter the military had formed was one point of note, but that didn’t mean that it was the only checkpoint to be mindful of.
It was also important to at least get a feel of how the citizens were feeling. How were they reacting to these new changes?
The second task was to get an understanding of how the city’s current distribution channels were holding up.
Half the world’s population had suddenly vanished overnight. They had disappeared across organizations and careers, whether they were truckers, farmers, bankers, or politicians. What would this do to the food supply? The city’s amenities? How was the government countering all of this?
They almost certainly were ready for these logistical matters. Where they lacked was in the firepower needed to keep the new superpowered humans in check.
As for the third task, Sylas was certain that there was one, he just didn’t know what it was.
The first two tasks were deduced by him based on the information they gave him. But the third was something they refused to even give him a hint about.
…
The city wasn’t as barren as it seemed from the outside. There were still some cars on the road, and some people trying to go about their business.
As expected, even if the government wasn’t ready for the Trial to end so early, they would have certainly been ready for the Trial itself.
However, things only looked normal on the surface.
Every few street corners they passed would have at least one shifty-eyed individual. This man or woman was almost certainly an agent of the government, and they weren’t doing a very good job of hiding the fact they were undercover, though that was part of their role.
Many might feel uncomfortable about the constant surveillance, especially since most wouldn’t have come across a Trial Taker personally considering how rare they were. But at this point, the government had no choice but to do this.
If there had been time and the Trial was played out to its end, then the government would have access to a large pool of extremely powerful warriors.
But without them, they could only play a game of numbers’ advantage.
CRASH.
Suddenly, the sound of shattering glass echoed through the street and Bloom was forced to slam the brakes hard.
A shadow dashed out from the jewelry store. They had only just entered as a normal customer seconds ago, and yet in a brief instant, they had swiped an entire aisle and dashed out.
[Carter Prince (F+)]
[Level: 3]
[Physical: 62]
[Mental: 49]
[Will: 33]
‘He’s fast,’ Sylas thought.
The Speed wasn’t far from what Sylas could do right this moment. While all of his Physical stats but Constitution were at 100 right now, most skewed wildly in favor of one stat or another, and this person was clearly one of them.
‘And impulsive.’ Sylas finished his thought.
Shrieks echoed as the man dashed out. He at least seemed to have planned his route out, diving down an alley and scaling a fire escape.
Sylas’ brow quirked. ‘He’s going to escape?’
His gaze landed on the disguised military personnel on the street corner. They had already dashed out, but they were far too slow.
[Gertrude Monet (F)]
[Level: 1]
‘And that’s why.’
The man obviously had his face covered. By the time Gertrude reached the fire escape, he was already at the top of the building, and he began to jump from rooftop to rooftop, clearing large swaths of land in the blink of an eye.
To the shock of the spectators, he jumped clear across an entire street, a distance that was at least 12 meters.
The current long jump record was just over nine meters. It could be said that no one had ever seen a human jump so far in their entire lives, let alone on concrete.
Soon, the man was out of the scope of Sylas’ Visualization, and he had vanished into the distance, a bag of precious jewels in his hands.
Gertrude was quickly speaking into a communication device, but the connection seemed spotty at best.
However, to Sylas’ surprise, she pulled out something from her pocket and slapped it onto the back of the walkie-talkie. Suddenly, the static vanished, and the voice on the other side became clear.
‘What’s that?’ Sylas didn’t hide his gaze. ‘An extra battery pack?’
That was what it looked like, but he couldn’t be certain. Could it be that they could overcome these flaws, at least for the time being, with more power?
He slotted this thought away. He had a feeling that it would come in handy very soon.
After Gertrude finished speaking to a colleague and Bloom pressed the gas again, she began to close off the perimeter.
“If anyone is willing to give me a statement, please step forward!”
The female military officer took out a badge hidden within her jacket and let it hang around her neck.
…
The trio continued to drive, and about half an hour later, they reached their destination.
Bloom seemed to know exactly where she was going even if Sylas was confused.
They pulled into the garage of a normal single-family home and closed the garage door behind them.
Bloom hopped out and unscrewed the license plates, keeping them under her arm and opening a box to the side. From the metal box, she pulled out a new pair of plates and screwed them in before nodding in satisfaction.
“We’ll be living here for the time being.”
Sylas nodded. That was fine by him. The more time they had, the better odds he’d have of finding a computer he could work with.
