"Will he be back tomorrow? I mean, he was sick but not saying anything after being quarantine just .. Sigh.. At least he still did his work remotely though.. Is he okay tho?" Laura asked, sitting in her office chair on the second floor of the school. From her office, she had a clear view of the school field, which was large enough to fit a standard 400m running track.
"Sigh.. I could have texted him before.. Guess it is a little bit late to regret.." thought Laura as she completed her work and started to walk out of her office after turning off her personal computer.
She wasn't supposed to visit the orphanage today, but no one else was available on the last weekend and the visit was long overdue. So she had to visit them today, come what may. She could have forced or ordered other teachers or staff to go with her, but she didn't want to abuse her power as she would feel bad disturbing someone else free time.
She spent a considerable amount of time loading the donation boxes at the front lobby into her car from outside. There were a lot of boxes, but she persevered. After almost an hour, she finished unloading everything into her SUV, and her sports attire was soaked in sweat. She took a moment to rest and changed into a casual t-shirt and jeans for the upcoming visit.
While resting, Laura received a call from the last person she expected.. Aaron.
It was a brief call as he sounded rushed and requested to meet with her soon. He said he would arrive shortly.
Laura waited inside her car as it was sunny outside, and she didn't want to sweat after changing her clothes.
"Is he really okay?" muttered Laura staring her phone.
…
A few minutes later, Aaron was seen walking towards Laura's SUV. He was dressed in an expensive black suit, despite the blazing sun and hot weather. The black leather shoes he wore were also luxurious and custom-made. Although he would have looked much better with a tie, his attire was still impressive.
"Well, f* you, Luo. I wouldn't have worn your suits if I knew it was going to be this hot outside," complained Aaron the whole time he walked outside the facility.
"Whoa.. He looks so different. Wait a minute.. Did he just grow taller? Not to mention his jaw looks more chiseled now!" thought Laura, with a shocked expression on her face. However, she quickly composed herself as Aaron approached her car.
"Oh, hello there, Laura! Kinda expect to see you here on a Sunday. Still doing your philanthropy work, I see. Good for you." Aaron cleared his throat and noticed the boxes in the back of the SUV.
He continued, "Looks like you have a lot to deliver. Need any help with that?"
"Yes, I do need some help.. Why do you look so different.. Even when we were in school, I have never seen you look like this before.. Um, it looks good though. So why did you want to meet right now? It sounded very important from the call before.." replied Laura, who slightly blushed as she looked at Aaron up close.
Aaron explained to Laura that he had borrowed the suit from someone else because most of his clothes were too casual, and Luo would nag at him 24/7 if he wore them outside. He then proceeded to tell Laura the made-up story about his disappearance, and how everything was prepared by Luo.
Thanks to Luo's help, according to the system, Aaron was warded and quarantined in one of Garry's hospitals. Even though he felt bad lying to Laura, he knew she wouldn't believe him if he told her the truth.
Laura didn't doubt Aaron's words even once as she believed he had no reason to lie. The whole journey was spent with Laura briefing him about what was happening at school. Aaron tried to stop her, but she was too enthusiastic, so he just let her be. He couldn't find the right moment to tell her about his resignation.
Just like before, Laura told Aaron to stay behind as she would spend bit of time with the orphanage manager. He was fine with it as it would save some time as he could just unloaded the boxes at the same time while she was meeting with the manager.
"Ah, this place is still scummy like before. Man, I really cant find anything good about this disgusting place. Maybe I can use my mercenary rank for this?" thought Aaron as he was unloading the boxes from the black SUV.
Yesterday, he had to go through a series of exercises beyond his understanding of human realm ability. But he completed them all without struggling. Later that evening, Garry came to explain that he had passed the ability test to become a 5-star ranked mercenary. He also told him that his real identity would not be revealed, as Garry had prepared another fake identity for him.
Basically, he was now a high-ranked mercenary named Steven Chen. Aaron had asked why he had to use Garry's family name, but Garry had explained that it was much easier to explain the sudden appearance of an unknown person who aced the 5-star rank mercenary test that way. He also mentioned his search for artifacts around the country and how he had found a few, keeping them in the main capital of the country.
"Hmm, I thought my life would be chiller after quitting teaching soon.. Mercenary works kinda tough and lengthy from what Luo's story.." thought Aaron as he played around with his mercenary card. He had unloaded everything and decided to stroll around the orphanage.
His survey of the area was just as unremarkable as before, except for the warehouse. It was always guarded, and this time it was the brawny sentry he had seen on his previous visit. He knew something illegal was hidden inside.
To outsmart the guard, he made some noises nearby and quickly used his magical universal key to enter and exit the door as quickly as possible. He was taken aback by what he discovered inside the warehouse. There was a trap door beneath the ground that he had felt as he walked on it.
Though the metal trap door was locked, it was no hassle to him. He quietly descended down the well-built tunnel without sources of light, he was confidence with his enhanced physique anyway.
He continued walking for a few minutes until he reached a locked metal door on his right. He opened the door and was completely stunned by what he saw.
"Well, this is getting serious. I could use this case as my first job as the mercenary.." muttered Aaron from what he saw.
The room was as large as two basketball courts, and he was amazed to find that it was filled with various types of drugs. He surmised that this location was a secure storage facility used by the cartel to keep the majority of their products underground, near the city area.
Suddenly, his phone beeped and Aaron saw that it was Laura. He realized that she might have ended the meeting early, so he had to leave as soon as possible and as quietly as possible.
Aaron looked down at the teleportation ring on his pointed finger and whispered, "Blink." In an instant, he disappeared from the hidden room.
...
He teleported to a discreet location nestled between the orphanage dormitories and shower area, a spot he had deemed safe for such purposes. He had learned that in order to teleport with the ring, he had to either be physically present at the desired location or have seen it before. Fortunately, he had prepared for this moment.
As he materialized, he realized that Laura had ended the meeting early and was already waiting for him in her car. Under the pretense of having gone to the restroom, he made his way towards her as quickly as possible.
"That was quick.. Sorry.. had to wash my hands from unloading. How was the meeting? How are the orphans doing?" Aaron asked as he settled into the passenger seat next to Laura. He couldn't help but notice a hint of disappointment in her expression, and he wondered if something had gone wrong in the meeting.
Suppressing her disappointment, Laura made an effort to appear upbeat and changed the subject, asking Aaron about the purpose of their meeting.
"So, why did you want to meet me today? You haven't said anything about it since we met at school," her curiosity getting the better of her.
After all, Aaron had helped her twice with these charity trips, and she was genuinely interested in what he had to say.
Aaron sighed loudly before beginning to speak.
"I want to quit teaching to travel."