Calvin was extremely shocked by what the old man said, his throat was pressing him, he didn't think that he would face this unfortunate news. All the others were quiet and observed the situation from afar. William seemed to be a bit concerned about it, His face was very saddened. Suddenly, Ilyes stood up and looked at William.
"Are there any other way for him to continue??" He asked out of concern for Calvin.
"Yes, there are. He could join another group which specializes in MTCD." He responded.
"What is it?" Calvin asked.
"It stands for Modern Technology Combat Development" Ilyes responded.
"It usually all where the trash goes." A voice came from one of the martial artists.
They all diverted their gaze to where the voice came from, it was the big guy they met on the plane.
"Mind your language, Mr. Davis. " William responded.
"I'm only saying the truth, pal! I heard that all who have a weak aptitude for Chi got transferred there. They always come last *Haha*. They think developing guns and armors make them stronger *haha*." He laughed.
"SHUT UP!" Ilyes yelled at him, angry.
"*HaHa* Make Me! ABS amateur!" He shouted in response.
"Fighting is prohibited!" William shouted and made them speechless.
The doctor looked at Calvin, who had his head down, lost from this world, he got his hand on his shoulder, to comfort him.
"Anything isn't lost yet, you can still become one of the best. Sadly, you lack talents, but I always believe that hard work beats talent. Look, for example, the drunken master." He said.
Calvin lifted his head up enough to see him.
"The drunken master?" He asked curiously.
"The drunken master in one of the top assassins in the entire world, he is the only graduate from group 0 that made it this far," William explained.
Calvin seemed to be intrigued by the drunken master, he realized that if he wanted to continue living, he must absolutely make a name of himself on the grid, just like the drunken master did.
Chin-Hae was sitting in the corner, looking at them talking about Calvin's situation, his arms were crossed and so were his leg, the left on top of the right.
"But that's the only exception that confirms the rule." Chin-Hae addressed.
They noticed what he said, Calvin was reminded of the cruel reality, he needed from now on to put in a lot of work. And then, he remembered someone, his friend, Eric. Motivation surged in him, he got up and looked at Chin-Hae.
"The upcoming tournament, I'll be on top. Mark my words!" Calvin declared in a relatively loud voice, so everyone in the room could hear him.
Ilyes was relieved and cheer Calvin on, Davis laughed at him, but on the other hand, Chin-Hae was a bit surprised by Calvin, he smirked in response.
"I'm looking forward to it," Chin-Hae responded to Calvin's provocation.
"Now, Mr. Bradford. I'll take you to your group." William said.
"Ok, let's go," Calvin said motivationally.
They exited the room, the doctor decided to go on his own, he bid farewell and went his way. As they walked down the hallway, Calvin noticed that they were going to the end, there was a door in really bad shape. He felt discouraged, as William opened the door, chaos uncovered. Laughs, cries, yells, and everything a human can possibly express was in that room. Gadgets flying around, guys playing card games, girls gossiping in groups, nerds making and destroying inventions. It was a very weird place, Calvin thought he was back in high school.
"What is this?" Calvin asked pointing at them with his finger.
"This is your group, Mr. Bradford," William responded in a sarcastic way.
Calvin was disappointed, the room was in a total mess.
"Now, Mr. Bradford. I need to go to my place. Good luck." William excused.
"Ok, see you around, William," Calvin replied while in his mind (I gonna need more than luck!).
After William disappearing from sight, Calvin entered and chose a chair, and sat. Everyone in the room started to look at Calvin, they were pretty straightforward with it, they didn't even hide their intent. Suddenly, someone yelled.
"Finally! A new member!" He said while looking at Calvin.
Calvin was surprised, he felt a bit awkward also. Soon after, the individuals stood up and surrounded him including the man who yelled. They began asking him questions and they were doing it enthusiastically, Calvin didn't refuse and just answered every question that came his way.
"Hey hey, what's your name?"
"Calvin Bradford."
"What's your age?"
"22 years old."
"What's your favorite color?"
"Sky blue."
"What's your Blood type?"
"B-"
"Wait, everyone! What's up with these random question?" The guy calmed everyone.
"Let me present myself, I'm Reis Mcpherson." He introduced himself to Calvin.
Calvin analyzed him with his eyes, Reis had brown eyes and curly brown hair. He was wearing a messy white apron, big eyeglasses that looked like goggles and he was holding a tablet.
"So, What's up with this place?" Calvin asked while looking at everything in the room from corner to corner.
"Ha, We are a development technology team. Our mission is to create weapons for different sects and people, but everyone here can also be recruited directly if they perform well in the upcoming tournament!" He explained.
"The upcoming tournament..." Calvin sighed and looked down.
The atmosphere changed in the room, they understood him.
"I know we don't have a good aptitude for Chi, and we lose a lot in combat. But we have cutting-edge technology, the best in the world. If we somehow can manage to use it properly, we can win!" he said proudly.
"Oh, I understand now. I'll trust you!" Calvin admitted, everyone cheered and were happy after hearing him.
"So, where do we make our equipment?" Calvin asked Reis.
Reis smiled and took a remote control from his white apron, and clicked on it.
"Formation activate!" He yelled.
Suddenly, an earthquake hit.