Rei and Alice searched in cities that Rei had not traveled to before.
Alice didn't have much to do, but she enjoyed the trip to the fullest and had fun daily while traveling with Rei; eating all kinds of delicious foods, fun places with various games, and much other enjoyment she had never experienced before.
Rei's goal was to find someone he could recruit. But that someone must have the power he wanted.
It's been a month of searching, and Rei had found two candidates in one place.
One was a fourteen-year-old boy living in the orphanage of the downtown area of Thunder City. He had what it took to be his subordinate with some teaching.
Another was a woman called Lia in her early thirties, similarly living in the downtown area of the same city. But her situation was complex. Lia's husband had a second wife living in the same house, who was his former lover.
Lia was basically married off because her parents couldn't afford her. None in her maternal family were Gifted, which was rare on Earth. They were just too poor.
Usually, there were at least one or two Gifted in a family. But even among the Gifted, not everyone had useful abilities. So the majority of people still had to learn and get a job.
But even though she was married for a better future, the guy didn't like her as he had a girlfriend.
But he also had no other choice since his parents arranged the marriage, and he had to listen to them because he was also useless then. Not smart and not Gifted. He was the same after many years, except for having a solid desk job in a company.
As such, Lia basically lived like a servant in the house, doing all daily work, cooking, and cleaning the house for free in exchange for just living hollowly.
Her husband never even slept with her, so she had no child. Meanwhile, his second wife had two. One boy and one girl, both under ten.
Lia had thought about escaping many times but couldn't muster the courage after living like that for years.
At the moment, Alice and Rei were on a big balcony atop a luxurious hotel in the city.
Alice was eating breakfast, while Rei was thinking while sipping tea occasionally.
"Still deciding?" Alice asked curiously.
"I've decided. I am just thinking of the approach," Rei said with a smile.
"Who are you going to choose?" Alice asked.
"Lia. The boy still has a future, but that woman lives an empty life."
Alice quickly nodded with a happy smile, "I also wanted you to choose her. You can save her and change her life like me."
"Haha," Rei lightly laughed and nodded.
~Ring~
Rei took out his phone and saw that Leo was calling him. Rei had already messaged Leo that he had found the final piece, so Leo must have called him after finishing the preparation.
[ Leo: Everything's set for the plan. I am coming over there tomorrow. After that, we will go to Tidecall City and die. The following day, we will arrive at Dragon City's beach on our King Fish and, from there, Terra AI's base. ]
[ Rei: Perfect. See you soon. ]
…
After eating breakfast, Rei and Alice went to Lia's house. Of course, they didn't enter inside as it could cause a scene. Instead, they sat inside a nearby inn and waited for her to come out.
After a while, they saw the second wife's son and daughter going to school.
Then they saw the husband and his second wife going out together, which meant Lia was home alone.
"Let's go," Rei said, standing up. He was tired of waiting.
"Finally, phew." Alice sighed a relief. They'd been here for over an hour, and it was getting really boring.
Rei rang the bell, and Lia opened the door. She had dark grey hair, an average face, a slim body, and a medium bust. She looked average in all aspects except for her eyes, which were of a rare color, hazy purple.
Coincidently or not, her dormant ability had purple in its name.
"How can I help you?" Lia asked politely with doubt.
"Hi, Lia. You may not know us, but we know you," Rei said with a striking smile. "I have an important proposal for you that can change your life. Shall we hear it inside?"
"Proposal? Ah, sorry. Please come inside first," Lia quickly said, as talking at the door with guests was not good.
"Lia, It doesn't take a degree in psychology to know that you are not happy with your life," Rei said. "But I can change that."
"What? I-I am not…." Lia stammered. She was clearly nervous and majorly unconfident regarding herself.
'Her situation is worse than I thought.' Rei internally frowned a bit but then eased up. 'Oh well, she will change after awakening.'
"Lia, I am going to do something big. It will be the biggest thing since the Dark War in 2030," Rei said with a faint smile. "And I want you to partake in that big thing, so you can get the chance to live your life to the fullest and enjoy."
"Me?" Lia was dumbfounded. 'Are they salespeople here to sell some new product? Even so, this much boast is a bit….'
If Rei knew her thoughts, he wouldn't even know whether to laugh or cry.
She was not taking him seriously! Well, he could see that from her expression.
"Ahem, I am here to recruit you because of your ability that is still not awakened like many others."
"W-What! You mean you can awaken my ability?" Lia felt unreal. 'Surely, that's not possible, right?' She thought.
"Lia, you are living an empty life," Rei said with a straight expression. "But I can change that. I have the means to awaken your ability, and I want you as my subordinate because of that."
"I hope you can join us," Alice said, expressing lament, "You will live way better than here. I am proof of that. From my despairing life at death's door, I now live without any pain and sadness because of Rei."
Rei nodded. "There are only four members if we include you," he said with a smile. "We won't even stay in our solar system, let alone on this planet, after executing my plan."
Lia looked at Alice and Rei for a few seconds with hesitation and doubt.
Rei narrowed his eyes, looking at her, and said, "Do you think we are lying? And plotting some other things behind the lies?"
Lia almost screamed because Rei hit the bull's eyes! She indeed doubted that.
These days, she had heard the news of people being used in some experiments after getting kidnapped or the same old human trafficking for organs.
If by chance these two people were kidnappers and she went with them… nobody would even look for her if she went missing.
Especially her husband, who would rejoice instead of finding her.
"It seems that you do not trust our words. Haha, I can't blame you for that," Rei said with a laugh and stood up.
"My ability is to see what ability others have, whether awakened or dormant. I like your ability, so I want to give you a chance to improve your life while also working for it, but I won't force you."
Rei smiled and continued, "You have only today to think about this. Whether you take this leap of faith or continue living an empty life here is up to you."
"We will be sitting at the nearby inn from 8 to 10 tomorrow morning for only two hours. If you want to join, meet us there," Rei added before turning around to leave.
"Please come for yourself. You do not belong here," Alice also said her piece with pity before turning around to leave with Rei. She really hoped Lia could help Rei and also change her life for the better instead of suffering here.