I've been walking for over 17 minutes since I got down from the Uber.
Why is this address he gave to me leading to the outskirts?
Don't tell me the old man just have fame, not money.
In the note he gave to me, he specifically mentioned that once I've gotten deep enough into the outskirts, I should ask anyone for the house named "Last Night".
Ok, there's been a whole lot of weird things going on today.
Who names their house "Last Night"? That's a creepy name because the owner is a well-known "Hero".
After asking about the place, I was directed to walk toward a small house made of wood.
On getting there I saw a woman instead of the old man.
"Excuse me, ma'am, Good day, please is this last night?" I asked the bulky-looking woman with brown short hair and brown eyes.
She looked to be around her early 50s.
"Let me see your pass" She demanded
A pass? I became confused at first but after thinking about it, I figured that maybe the address paper the man gave me can be considered a pass.
Showing her the paper, she took it and examined it properly before letting me in. She led me to the backyard.
Lo and behold, it was another route.
The house that was positioned there was used to obstruct a road and as a victim, I know that many other people will not also know that there's a road here.
"Walk 11 meters ahead, you'll see a route leading to the right, turn left and you'll see the house you're looking for?"
I'm really not good at maths, that shouldn't surprise you, rather you should be surprised that an old woman like her knows the distance in meters.
I just meter to go forward and then turn...
Wait...did she just say that I'll see a route leading to the right and I should turn left?
"Ma I don't under..." Turning back to lay my complaints, I didn't see her there.
How can a woman so fat and old be that fast?
Deciding to keep moving I started thinking of what to do.
Well, she's either insane or right, but I doubt an old woman who knows the distance to a particular location in meters is insane.
If there's one thing I've learned in my past two years, it's to always follow instructions, regardless of who, what, or why you're given the instruction.
Come to think of it, this whole journey has been confusing.
A celebrity hero living in the outskirts, not only that, in the deepest part of the outskirts.
It makes sense that he wants to hide because he is one of the people who invented the world's strongest martial arts and he's probably the only one who can teach it.
And to top it off, he's a really good craftsman, in this world of martial arts, having a good craftsman is as good as having a pot full of gold.
So it should be pretty normal that he'd be a target of many people, but, is this necessary?
I mean, the whole address thing, is he trying to even confuse the people he invites?
I might have at least succeeded because I'm extremely smart.
You know.
After losing my way, up to four or five times, I've gotten a hang of this.
What?
Some people may not even be able to find their way out, while some will give up and go home, so give me some credit.
Ehem.
Back to the topic, I think I understand why he sets it to be confusing.
Fans and enemies might try to tail him whenever they get the chance, so he's going through his this might give them the mindset that he's here to visit someone.
Thereby making them give up, or at least that's what I think, I'm not sure if I'm even making sense at all.
Reaching a part that led to the right I decided to look to the left but I saw only leaves and trees.
Right then and there I concluded that the old lady was insane.
Maybe her measurement of the road was a fluke, maybe she overheard someone saying it.
I don't even know if her measurement is correct since I'm not that smart enough to confirm it.
I was about to take the right turn but my instincts told me to check out what was behind the tree, since there was a house hiding a whole route, there was a possibility of the house being behind there.
There's no harm in checking it out right?
And with that, I decided to check it out, making my way past some tree leaves I saw a short-distance road.
About 20 steps from my current position were the end of the road and there was another wooden house, this one looked more wrecked than the last one.
The sight made me begin to wonder if two people can fit into the house.
It had a wood hung at the entrance of the door, the wood was about to fall off but it had words written on it.
"Last Night"
The house as a whole looked like it would collapse the second a stone dropped on it.
The old woman is not crazy, the crazy one is that man.
How could he have given me the wrong address?
Does he think I have all the time in the world to play hide and seek?
Ok, I might have all the time in the world but, I don't want to waste it like this.
I'm sure the moment I'm stepping into this house, I'll be buried in a pile of rubble.
~sigh~
I've done enough, time to go home.
Turning back to leave, I heard a creaking sound behind me, and following it was a familiar voice.
"It's rude not to even get into the house of the person who invited you before turning to leave."
Turning back once more to look at the building, I saw the old man standing in front of the door with his usual posture and an expressionless face.
Surprised to see him, I decided to tease him.
"Woah old man, you never told me you had a mansion in such a popular place"
I said sarcasm clear in my voice. But ignoring my comment, the old man continued
"I did not expect you to make it," He said with a deadly serious tone
What's he saying now?
"Could it be that you were expecting that I would die before getting here?"
I asked with a confused look.
~haaaa~ Pinching the middle of his eyebrows, he sighed
"No you idiot, I mean, the address was troubling, confusing, and annoying.
Most people would have given up long before, plus the fact that you turned left following the woman's instructions which would have seemed stupid to other people.
When I first saw you, I knew you were dumb, but you coming here proves me wrong" The old man explained.
I was impressed that the old man thought of this but at the same time annoyed by his half-hearted compliment.
"Wow old man, your compliment doesn't sound like a compliment, but that aside it was all a hunch"
I knew something was up, who could have guessed? I'm even surprised at my smartness and instincts.
"Hahaha, I believe you, I guess your brain's too undeveloped to calculate it, it's all by sheer luck" The old man laughed.
"Ironically, that's what I have never had, LUCK"
I said making the man halt his laughter and clear his throat, returning to his usually serious gaze
"Come on in," He said entering the house
"Are you sure? I may not look like it but I do have weight, and this house seems like it'll collapse any minute from now"
I said trying to confirm that it was safe to enter and honestly, I don't want to be that guy who gets buried in the debris of an old building.
"Don't worry, this house is strong enough to hold at least 3 elephants" The man said with a cheeky smile
"If you said that to make me feel safe, then I'm sorry because it's doing quite the opposite."
I said before following him in.
Carefully, I tiptoed into the building.
You don't expect me to walk majestically right?
I'm not ready to die ye...I mean I don't want to die in a pathetic way as being buried in a house that I'm sure has stayed for as old as the man himself, if not older.
Following the man closely behind, while still tip-toeing, we both barely contained in the house.
"Follow me" He ordered
"And what do you think I'm doing?" I said annoyed by the uncomfortable environment and his commanding voice.
"You're so popular, why aren't you filthy rich?"
I asked
Yes, his house was empty, I could only see old creaking wooden chairs and tables, he didn't even have a bed, and then a mirror at the end of the wall.
The house was dusty and will be a good setting for a haunted house.
"Normally, I would have ignored you, but because you're already stupid enough, adding a little knowledge to you wouldn't hurt right? so listen, it's not everyone popular that's a rich kid"
He explained in self-defense.
"You're even more foul-mouthed than a lot of kids my age," I said half annoyed
"Thanks for the compliment, what can I say, the younger I get the better," He said
He does have no shame.
"pff, yeah, right, you're very VERY young"
As I said that, the old man suddenly came to a halt in front of a mirror.
Annoyed, I decided to ask.
"Do you still check yourself out at this ag..."
I couldn't finish my sentence as I was wowed by what was happening.
I thought he was checking himself out, but that mirror...the mirror just scanned his face.
It's a "Facial scan code lock"( FSCL ).
I know you don't understand.
Now she, let me explain.
You have probably watched a spy movie, where the cool characters who usually wear black suits have hideouts also known as secret bases or headquarters (hq).
You've seen how the doors open right?
Some use fingerprint sensors, while some use eye detection but recently, that technology has developed more, they now have a facial scan code lock, and although they had it before, this one is more advanced.
Apart from this, some technologies are only obtainable by the super-rich ones, some have not even been launched yet.
How do I know you ask?
I do watch commercials and they advertise all the cool gadgets there.
I don't even waste time admiring it because I know the price is something that, even if I join all the money in all seven suitcases, I will only be able to afford five of the cheapest ones.
Now, that's a surprise, right?
But the real surprise is that it comes in many forms, some can be installed in the door while some in a camera, but the one that's in the mirror is the costliest of all security gadgets and it's only 20 of them around the world.
Why?
Because it has no flaws.
It's a mirror and hardly anyone would know that it's even something used for security to hide a secret base.
And if a stranger's face is recorded it will only sound an alarm to the owner's connected device, maybe a smartphone or smartwatch.
For example
If my face is not recognized it won't inform me by scanning my face, thereby making me think it's a normal reflective mirror, meanwhile, it has sent a distress signal to the old man, informing him of an intruder.
Wow right?
This man may be old but he's smart, his whole setting is fool-proof.
Even if he was able to be tailed, no one would believe that such a mirror would be in a crumbling house, so you wouldn't even give it a second thought.
I couldn't say anything, I was at a loss for words.
The mirror did not show any sign of scanning, the only way I knew it scanned his face was when the mirror marked green, but it doesn't react at all even when it was the wrong person's face that was scanned.
After it was marked green, it started sinking into the wall it is hung on.
After sinking halfway, it slid up exposing an elevator interior, and once again I was speechless.
The whole thing is so difficult to process, I stared with my mouth agape.
The man entered the elevator and looked at me before uttering.
"Are you coming or not? Remember to close that mouth of yours before it becomes a home for flies"
Snapping back into reality, I joined him in the elevator.
The mirror slid down back, and since we were inside the elevator, I saw it going back to its previous position, in reverse of its previous sinking, it settled back and became the Same level as the wall.
I was expecting the elevator to go down but no it didn't.
"Hold tight" The old man warned
"Huh? What do you mean..."
I didn't finish my word yet again and a pressure pushed me against the elevator side metal.
The elevator wasn't going down, it was going sideways with speed.
I'm not sure if I should still call it an elevator.
I wasn't even in the position to be wowed, the pressure was pressing me hard against the elevator's hard metal.
Meanwhile, the old man was standing still, not even budging.
After about 3 minutes, the Pace of the elevator began slowing down before it finally stopped.
Losing my balance, I fell to my knees while looking at the old man who was smirking.
*I'll get you for this old wizard*
I cursed inwardly.
As the elevator door opened, I was wowed once again.
"T–This, is this heaven?"
I muttered under my breath at the sight in front of me