After the Dark War, the concept of countries was lost.
At the moment, Earth had a single governing body called Earth Union with ten leaders and many other people to govern the planet.
The leaders and City Mayors were chosen by an artificial intelligence called Terra AI that was brought here by the Milky Way Alliance. Terra AI was part of a way bigger AI. As for what it was, nobody on planet Earth knew.
But there was one more interesting thing that this Terra AI was doing.
It was giving access to some talented individuals periodically. These individuals could get any information they wanted, and the Terra AI would even help them hack something if it didn't break its rules.
Leo was one of the five people on Earth who had access to Terra AI. At the moment, he was taking a break after giving Rei the information he needed.
"What is Rei up to lately?" Leo muttered as he saw Rei coming to his house at this time. It was 2 AM!
…
"So what kind of adventure have you been doing the past month? If you don't attend the academy properly, you won't get the chance to leave Earth," Leo said with a wry smile as he sat across Rei at a table in the basement. "Don't you want to rise high?"
Rei had a carefree smile on his face. After taking a sip from the juice pack on the table, he said, "Worry not, bud. We will leave this planet and do it so with a blast."
'Eh? What is he cooking?' Leo wondered in surprise upon hearing Rei.
They had been friends since they were five, so he knew Rei had been mischievous since he was small despite being parentless like him. He didn't let negativity affect him much and instead showed his thirst to get stronger than others.
As they grew up, Rei worked hard to hone his combat while Leo was the genius computer guy. But Leo knew that Rei's mind also worked unusually and terrifyingly.
Sometimes, he even looked scary and released an aura that terrified people, albeit only for a brief moment and easily swatted as an illusion and overthinking by others.
But Leo had seen the same thing happen many times, so he knew that it was not an illusion.
After graduating high school at eighteen, both were recruited to this city's Central Academy. However, Rei didn't join immediately and disappeared, and Leo lost contact with him for a year after Rei asked him for a second identity.
However, after Rei came back, he was stronger than ever because he got himself an A-grade physical enhancement serum that strengthened his physical body after participating in an underground bloody tournament.
After that, Rei joined the academy a year later than Leo, so they were not in the same class as Leo was a year ahead.
"I don't know what you are cooking, but I am graduating after six months. You should know what that means," Leo said as he picked up his juice glass and took a sip.
"Walnut Juice… You never get tired from it, right?" Rei laughed.
Leo rolled his eyes.
"Please, I don't have tastes as exotic as you. So, what's the plan?"
"The plan is big, very big," Rei replied while grinning.
"Big…" Leo muttered before he remembered something that caused his eyes to go wide.
"Fuck, I just remembered something. Regarding that big boobs red hair woman, I couldn't give you full info at that time since you were in a hurry, but she is a mistress of a tycoon. Pen Walter. He is a big wig of this city."
"So?" Rei raised his eyebrows.
Leo took a deep breath. He knew that Rei had killed some ruthless people before, and the way he asked for info…
"Don't tell me you killed her?" Leo asked, his expression serious.
"She's dead."
…
A fat man wearing a white suit and transparent red glasses sat on a couch inside a super luxurious club.
In front of him sat two men in black suits that had just arrived here, and one of them spoke with a slight stammer, "S-Sir Pen, Mikali is dead."
Pen Walter. This fatty had the highest authority in this Starrow city when it came to underground businesses.
And now, his favorite mistress died.
"Who killed her?" Pen asked with narrowed eyes.
"No idea because she was killed in her own bar. That place is hidden deeply. Only a few people know about it."
*Thuk*
Pen slammed his hand on the table, saying, "Then find the killer! Get the best detectives and contact Rowan to assist you."
"I want the killer in front of me in two days."
At that moment, a female wearing a secretory outfit arrived and said respectfully, "Sir, you'll have to depart to Phoenix City as it's getting late. The helicopter is ready."
Pen snorted and stood up, "Go and get to work."
"Yes, sir!"
Both men in a black suits stood up and left.
…
"How can you spot these hidden cameras? You also changed clothes multiple times… I don't even have to remove evidence for you because there's none," Leo said with a speechless expression.
"Bro, you look like a professional assassin in these."
Rei just smiled.
"Well, I am still removing everything related to you, so you're safe."
After Leo removed the shreds of evidence, he sat back on the sofa chair and adopted a somber expression before saying, "So? What's that big plan of yours?"
"My ability evolved a month ago," Rei said with a faint smile. "And this plan formed because of that."
"You could see people's ability if you touch them… if it evolved, then you can see people's ability without touching them, right? Hmmm, it's indeed good," Leo said while nodding.
"Haha, that's not all," Rei laughed and said before standing up.
"My senses, especially my eyes, significantly improved. Moreover, I can sense gazes on me, be they humane or artificial. That's why I could spot the cameras. But most importantly, I can trigger gifting in others."
"What?!"
Leo became shocked and wide-eyed, knowing what this entailed instantly!
"He Who Sees Through... This ability was a bit useless at first, but now..." Leo muttered before grinning. "Awesome."
Afterward, Rei told Leo about his ability in detail, like the condition and consequences.
And then… Rei told him his grand plan!
"You spent a month traveling everywhere to find an ability that you wanted for your plan, and you found it in our city… that's ironic, haha," Leo said with a laugh.
Rei wryly smiled and nodded. "I just hope it works when the time comes."
"Alright. I'll make the arrangements," Leo said with an excited grin. "Bro, if this plan succeeds, we will shock the whole Earth and even Milky Way Alliance. Fuck, I am excited about it."
"I wonder how much bounty will be on our head if we succeed, hahaha." Rei laughed.
"Bounty…" Leo narrowed his eyes as he thought of something, "I have an idea. Even if we have this planet's most powerful spaceship and AI, we might still get in trouble for our bold move."
"Trouble? Sure. But we'll successfully escape," Rei said.
"Yeah, but how about avoiding the trouble entirely?" Leo said with a grin. "What I mean is…. How about we die before executing our plan."
"That would make our adventure a bit lacking, no?" Rei said with slight unwillingness.
Leo rolled his eyes and said, "We are not playing any games here. We don't know the full extent of the Milky Way Alliance's power, so it's better to play it safe. The universe is so big. I am sure we will have great adventures."
"Alright, let's die before executing the plan. Also, I won't be attending the academy anymore. Alice and I will travel to find the last piece for this plan."
"Okay. I'll arrange for our deaths and means to get to the Terra AI's base. The latter can be done in a couple of days, so inform me when you find the final piece," Leo said.
"Got it," Rei nodded. "It won't take long to get the final piece."
Afterward, Rei left Leo's house.