(The Great Mass - DeV co tower)
(New recruit's P.O.V)
Thump Thump
My heart showed no signs of slowing down as I sat at the reception within one of the most iconic buildings in cell city.
A few days ago, I had applied for a job within DeV co. Strangely enough, they didn't ask me which job I was particularly interested in working in. The agent simply nodded and scanned my body. He didn't even take any of the required documents.
At first I thought it was some kind of joke but I had received a notification on my holo comm some few days ago. I made it in!
But... what job was I given?
It wasn't stated. I didn't mind though. All that mattered was that a 16 year old like me finally found a means to fend for myself and my grandma.
Within the central galaxy, people were allowed to work starting at age 15. This was as a result of the exposure to neo shard energy. Mingling with that strange energy source affected the human civilisation in diverse ways.
From enhanced physique to enhanced mental capacity and maturity at early stages of life. Of course, not everyone could obtain all these benefits. Even if you did have all of it, your upbringing until that age of 15 would determine, especially when it came to things relating to mental strength.
If you happened to have such problems then you wouldn't be allowed to work until it was solved.
I did hear that some organizations secretly took in such people for various experiments though. That was probably a rumour.
"Umm", a man dressed in the iconic red DeV co uniform approached me. "Angel Sol?"
My senses kicked up!
This was it!
"Y- Yes, that's me!", I hurriedly stood up and adjusted my suit.
"Oh, good", he smiled. "That suit wasn't really necessary though."
I laughed nervously, sweat running down the sides of my face.
How was I supposed to know?
No relevant information was handed out to me.
"Anyways", he gestured for me to follow him. "This way."
We entered an elevator and then arrived at the 25th floor. I was so obsessed with DeV co that I had made lots of research into all its facilities.
The DeV co tower was incredibly tall with about 125 floors. There were five sections, each containing 25 floors and it looked like we had entered the second section for new recruits.
To be honest, I was a bit nervous. I had no idea what kind of job I was going to be given. Well, maybe I would have to choose at that point?
Questions popped up one after the other and it wasn't helping me relax at all.
The official and I took a leisurely walk through a few winding hallways until we stopped before a door that had the words 'Selection room' above it.
"Please", the official gestured for me to go in.
Nodding, I took a few steps and the doors slid open with a light hum.
There wasn't much in that room except a few seats and a counter where a lady attended to the recruits.
A large holographic screen was displayed above everyone's heads and seemed to show a list of names.
[Mark Tallman, Michelle Niche and Andrea Nicole are to proceed to the counter]
The area was suddenly filled with a mechanical voice.
Three people then got up from their seats and moved over to the counter.
"Uh- hi", I walked over to a male colleague and took a seat beside him. "Do you mind telling me what's going on?"
It took a few seconds for him to stare at me with pure boredom in his pale dark eyes. I probably didn't notice it earlier but his black hair was a mess and he didn't seem to care about how poorly dressed he was.
"First of all...", he began. "Why the fuck are you in a friggin' suit? What is this, a business firm!?"
"Ah-", a sarcastic smile crept up on my face. "Well, about that-"
"Save it, I'm not interested. You wanna know what's going on eh?", he snarled. "A death trap. A death trap is what's going on!"
The weird man laughed hysterically, completely turning my convo mode off.
Maybe it was just better to shut up until my name was called.
Just then, the three people whose names were called motioned to exit the room.
Mechanical voices sounded once again but my attention was far removed from anything that was happening in the room.
They were glued, my eyes.
My eyes were glued to a stunning figure that walked in through the entrance.
The mech suit she wore radiated an aura of intense power as the red colour reflected the light in the room. Her long braided hair swayed mesmerizingly with every step she took and her scarlet, snake-like eyes-
Wait
Red mecha suit, snake-like eyes...
I immediately woke up from my daze, "The Snake's Eye mecha suit!? That means jsisw-"
Every word that came after seemed jumbled as the weird man from earlier covered my mouth.
"Boy shut up", he stared at me with pure fear in his eyes. "That's no ordinary person standing right there."
An expression of zero emotion revealed themselves in my eyes.
Of course I knew that!
That lady standing there was Dela, the red snake! I watched so many of the live casts that involved her taking down criminals!
Probably, the most iconic one was the time where she beat that outta nowhere alien with her mech bot!
She was my role model!
I always wanted to perfect myself to be better at protecting others!
That was my first time seeing her in real life and I was downright ecstatic! She was even way more gorgeous in person, gorgeously ferocious!
Miss Dela surveyed the area, taking a look at everyone's face until her eyes landed on mine.
Chills immediately ran down my spine as she continued to stare.
It was beginning to get as bit too tense.
"Uhh idiot, what did you do now", the weird man whispered. "Hey, answer me."
IDIOT!!
How was I supposed to do that if your hand covered my mouth!
"You, boy in the suit", miss Dela spoke. "Come with me."
Wait
What? What? WHAT!?
Was THE red snake calling me!?
"That's it, you're dead meat. Was nice knowing ya", the man let go of me.
"Tch, took you long enough", I silently snapped at the odd guy and walked towards Miss Dela.
"Follow me", she walked out of the room with me following suit.
Saliva slowly moved down my throat as a series of qurstions began to surface. I knew she was my role model and all but...
Why did she suddenly call me out?
Did I do something wrong?
Maybe it was the stupid suit.
We walked down a few hallways for what seemed like hours. That is, until she came to a stop in front of an elevator.
"Boy", she turned around. "Why are you in a suit?"
Eh-
I smiled sarcastically, "Well, umm, I- I wasn't told anything about attire and so I assumed that... that..."
Aaaaah damn this! I couldn't dare to stare into her eyes. They were way too enchanting!
Focus Angel, focus...
Miss Dela giggled, "There's nothing wrong with what you're wearing. The fact that insufficient information was given was a deliberate action."
"H- Huh?", my eyes widened.
"Even with less information, you came with everything", she smiled lovingly. "You came prepared and those are the kind of people we're looking for."
My face started to heat up at this point.
"Congratulations, you'll be working as a mech warrior", she clasped her hands. "Like me."
A mech warrior... like her.
Miss Dela moved in closer, "Welcome."
There was a strange feeling in my chest as I continued to stare in those deep scarlet eyes. Something was quite off about them the longer I stared.
It was as if a predator was lurking beneath those windows to her mind. It was as if it was getting closer and closer... the deadly fangs of a snake.
"Angel?", she tapped on her holographic device. "That's a nice name. You rarely hear names like these."
No no
What was I thinking!?
Obviously, one of the Great Mass' heroes couldn't possibly be a monster.
If I had to give an opinion...
she was the cutest person I had ever met. Kind and loving...
I was going to give it my all! Train under her as a loyal subordinate and then protect everyone I love!