"As soon as I infiltrated the Head Cipher's main office— well, it's just a small-scale room with a set of computer— I was apprehended by his guards, you know, the ones wearing those modernized Kevlar armors and one-size-bigger boots. Just when I gathered enough intel to bring this Corporation down, I let my guard down and that was the end for me. Hardly surprising but I felt like I went on a fruitless mission. Truthfully, I still regret what happened that day. But don't misunderstand, my line of thought won't change my work ethics in this Corporation. I'm just glad that they kept me alive even though I was part of the Resistance." Fujimoto said.
"Man, I didn't know." Jarxen sympathetically said. It was a first for him, hearing about someone being spared from the Resistance. Maybe, Head Cipher saw potential in Fujimoto as a block owner— that, or he's just waiting for the opportune time to terminate him.
"That being said, I don't know what came about my unit. There's a side of me who wishes that they returned safely, but deep inside, I know that that couldn't be possible. I just hope that they died a painless death." Fujimoto looked up as his lips partly smiled. He began to reminisce the not-so-old times of leading his unit as part of the resistance, fighting for the greater good of the Continent. But for now, he had no choice but to put everything behind his back since he's already taken part in the Nexus Corporation's heinous activities— the very thing he swore to destroy back in the days.
"At least you're still alive. And that means, you still have a chance to escape out of here." Jarxen comforted him.
"To think that we're like-minded. Don't tell me, you also want to break out if given the chance." Fujimoto lightly chuckled. There was simply no way that Jarxen would want that. After all, he already got everything he could possibly wish for...
...except freedom, that is.
"What?! Don't everybody think the same way?" Jarxen exclaimed in surprise, bolting out of his chair as he gave Fujimoto a nonplussed expression. "The way I see it. All of us here were brought against our will. The only difference I have compared to the others is the fact that I still can't remember my past."
"I didn't know that. Well, I never talked that much with the other block owners and all that." Fujimoto was just as surprised at Jarxen's sudden exclamation.
Jarxen sank back on his seat as they continued watching the Elite Conquest. The two of them totally forgot that Julia Ventio was beside them. "I also don't interact with the other block owners that frequently. To think that that happened to you, I must say I'm impressed you didn't show any hostility towards the corporation after all those years." Julia butted in.
"That's the least I could do to save my neck, you know." Fujimoto adjusted his glasses once again, reflecting the intense white light from the strong light-bulbs that dotted the Dome's entire ceiling. "Enough about that, how are your workers faring in the mock battle? They still alive?"
"Barely." Jarxen clenched his fists.
.....
Blond's knees buckled as soon as he reached the other side of the stick. It was the most overwhelming walk he did in his entire life. A huge lungful of air escaped his mouth as he sighed in relief.
I almost died back there! Blond screamed in his mind.
As his gaze landed on Red's smug face, he realized that there was no hiding it.
"Don't tell me, are you acrophobic?" Red cheekily teased, nudging at Blond.
Blond quickly regained his composure as he coughed a couple of times before denying the accusation. "What?! No. I was just worried about the risks of falling."
"So you were afraid of falling? That's cute." Freckles joined in. She just finished crossing the narrow pathway constructed from metal rods and wood. She almost wobbled to the side of the rooftop when Blond caught her by the waist.
"Oh really? Who's the cute one now?" Blond returned, glad that his rebuttal worked better than he expected.
Freckles gazed at Blond's bluish eyes. Fortunately, she was able to avert her gaze before those mesmerizing eyes entrapped her with their beauty. "Thanks,"
"If you were afraid of falling, then just don't fall." Scar advised, followed by an uncontrollable laugh that he let out.
Red did a quick headcount and realized that there was someone else missing.
The teenager in question was Curl.
Scanning the other side of the makeshift bridge, Red noticed Curl flinching as she dipped her foot on its end. It's as if she's testing water in the bathtub to see if the temperature is just right.
"Curl! What are you doing?" Red panicked.
Because of Red's sudden question, Curl flinched as her focus was interrupted. "I... I can't. It's too high." She stammered, on the verge of tears.
It didn't take long for Red to go to the other side of the 'wooden bridge'. "Hop on." Red offered as he squatted in front of Curl. He was urging her to climb on his back so he could cross the bridge with her.
"But that's... that's dangerous, stupid!" Curl blurted out. "What if we fall?"
"Then, that would totally be your fault. I could cross that thin bridge with a blindfold, you know." Red said, brimming with confidence. "Just don't flinch too much and we'll be fine, otherwise we'll be descending to our deaths."
Yeah, right. What could go wrong?
Curl gulped as nervousness overflowed from her body. Red was right. If they go through it and they fell, that would be her fault and hers alone. Adding to that, she would unnecessarily kill the two of them together, much less injure themselves.
It took Curl all her hesitation to finally climb on Red's back. "Close your eyes," Red urged her.
Without a moment to lose, Red ran at an unimaginable speed, making Curl clutch on his neck like a person on the edge of a cliff. However, it didn't stop Red from accelerating even more. Curl bottled up her fear as she hugged Red even tighter. She squeezed her eyes shut as winds whipped past her face, making her black, curly hair thrash in all directions.
She wanted to scream, but the constant reminder of Red carrying him on while doing a tight-rope kind of walk made her rethink about it. In the end, she pressed her lips together so no sound would come out.
"You can open your eyes now." Red gently said as he squatted once again, this time, to lower Curl from his back.
"There they go again... flirting in broad day... " Gadge muttered.
"I'd have done the same with anyone if you told me you can't cross." Red interrupted him before he could finish his grumbling. "And that goes for you as well, Blond. Don't push yourself too hard." Red teased, offering him a ride on his broad back.
"WHA?! No thanks, I'm good." Gadge forcefully declined.
The first sun rays peeked through the artificial horizon as morning finally descended in the Inside. The purplish hue of the atmosphere changed into a pale orange color while the stars vanished from the brightness. It should be repeated that the Inside was created underground and everything being shown in the sky was all artificially created and manifested technologically. As to how it works, no one except Head Cipher knows it.
After creating a bridge out of metal rods and wooden planks, Block-16 finally got out of the supermarket, formally separating them from the 'safe house' that Blond's group worked hard to make. Although they have mixed feelings about it, they knew that that's the only choice to secure their survival; otherwise, they'll be sitting ducks waiting to be devoured by workers and humanoids alike.
"Anything new from the drone feeds?" Red prodded at Gadge. "Are there any safer courses?"
"So far this is the safest. We'll be cutting through the Starting Point and heading to the City-section, which is northwards, after that, we'll cut a straight line through the Forest-Section, finally arriving at the southwesternmost part of the Inside. Cat is right, this is the safest way for us."
Red patted Cat on the shoulder. "Good job, Cat. Let's go."
On Cat's lead, the group cautiously traversed the rooftops, stopping only when a worker showed up in the vicinity. They could only assume which workers were targeting them so they didn't take any chances.
Because here in Elite Conquests, everyone is your enemy, including the people closest to you. The rules simply stated that anyone could betray a Block and join another one, no questions asked. Red could already foretell that there are some 'workers exchange' going on while the mock battles last but he paid it no mind; nor did he want to partake in it.
And he's not allowing his teammates to take part in it either.
"We're a-almost... there." Cat softly spoke as if whimpering while she pointed at the City-section.