At the entrance to the alley the sharp footsteps suddenly sounded like a dense drumbeat. The man's face grew grim for an instant. He quickly lowered his umbrella and hid his face under the dark shadow.
Abby's eyes widened, and before she knew it, the man was close to her. He laid his hand on Abby's waist, a movement that seemed gentle, but which had an irresistible force.
Abby's face almost touched the man's chest. It was the first time she had ever been in such close contact with a strange man, and panic swept over her in an instant.
Abby's heart was racing, and her breathing became rapid. Nervousness and curiosity mingled in her mind as she surreptitiously raised her eyes to the man, and saw only the hard lines of his jaw.
He must be hiding from somebody, Abby thought to herself.
The sound of the leather boots on the water echoed through the silent alley, and the sound came nearer and nearer. Abby glanced cautiously out of the corner of her eye, only to see two tall men hurrying quickly through the alley. One of the men jerked back, his gaze sweeping over them like a falcon's.
Abby tensed for an instant, and held her breath. Fortunately, the man only glanced casually at them, then turned and continued his rapid advance, and Abby's nerves relaxed a little.
The sound of footsteps quickly moved away until they disappeared, and Abby's nerves relaxed as she whispered to the man, "They're gone."
The man lifted his umbrella and looked in the direction from which the two men had just come, and only after ascertaining that there was no one else in the alley did he remove his hand from Abby's body.
"Thanks." said the man quietly.
"It's nothing compared to the two times you saved my life." Abby's eyes lowered and her face was surprisingly burning.
"What's your name?" the man asked.
"Abby."
"My name is William."
I know. Abby said to herself, I also know that you are a double spiritually awakened and that you are an Army lieutenant.
"Nice to meet you Abby," William said, "Does your family live nearby?"
Abby nodded her head as she pointed in the direction of the end of the alley, "My home is right there."
"Let me take you home."
Abby looks up in surprise at the words and she stammers, "I.. Actually, I can get home by myself."
"It's late and it's not very safe for you to go home alone. " William said, "Think of it as payback for all the help you just gave me."
Abby didn't hesitate; she said, "Okay."
After all, who can say no to a handsome man?
The raindrops kept hitting the ground with tiny splashes. William and Abby walked side by side on this cold, rainy night. Now and then Abby would lift her eyes furtively to William by her side. The dim light of the street-lamp fell upon his well-defined face, traced the handsome lines, and her heart beat a little faster in spite of her. William's eyes were fixed on the front, and his hand, gripping the handle of his umbrella, a little whitened by the force of his knuckles, seemed to be thinking of something.
At last the familiar little house appeared before her eyes. Abby stopped and said softly, "This is my home. Thank you for sending me back."
William nodded slightly, he returned the umbrella to Abby, "You're welcome."
Abby walked to the roof. The moment William was about to turn around and leave, she suddenly summoned up the courage to say, "Would you like to come to my house for a cup of hot tea?"
William was a little stupefied, and he gave a look of surprise.
Abby hurriedly explained, "I mean. Your clothes are wet from the rain, and even though you are an Awakened, it is easy to get sick in the rain. I have hot tea at home and you can have a cup of hot tea and wait for the rain to stop before you leave. After all, you've saved me twice. I don't know how to repay you. I...."
The more Abby explained, the more flustered she became. She swore she had never felt so overwhelmed in her life.
"Thank you for your kindness." William smiled, "I'm going to head back now."
"Oh yes." Abby said, a little embarrassed by the rejection, "Your girlfriend must be waiting for you, you should get back early."
"Girlfriend?" William frowned slightly, then he looked at Abby meaningfully, "Good night Abby."
"Uh...good night." Abby whispered.
The moment Abby set foot in the house, she touched her cheek, it was hot.
So Abby immediately took a big gulp of iced water from the refrigerator. After she finally calmed down, she said to herself with chagrin, "Oh Abby. You really ought not to have said anything like that. Why did you invite him over to the house?"
"You're an idiot." Abby slapped her on the head.
That night, Abby had trouble sleeping in her bed. Outside the window, the rain pummeled the glass in an erratic manner, each sound seeming to hit Abby's heart with a heavy thud. In the darkness, she stared at the ceiling with her eyes wide open, her thoughts confused.
.....
The next morning, after Abby woke up and had breakfast, she decided to look for a new job. So Abby used her cell phone to go to a job site and check out job postings about healers.
The Awakened are usually divided into two classes, one of whom is employed by the military. There is another class of awakened men who are employed by the hunters' unions. They are called hunters. The higher the rank, the higher the hunter's income.
Abby searched all the job postings posted by the Hunter Alliance, who are looking for at least level 3 healers. And Abby's current rank was only level 2, she didn't meet the recruitment conditions at all.
"Guess I'll just have to keep cleaning." Abby said helplessly. So she gave Jenny a call, and when it was answered, Abby told Jenny straight out that she wanted to go back to work.
"Oh Abby. Are you sure you don't need to continue your break?" Jenny asked on the other end of the line.
"No. I have fully recovered." Abby said, "I want to get back to work right away."
Although the cleaning company paid Abby's compensation, the money was needed not only to make ends meet, but also to buy expensive medication for her mom. Abby also had to pay for Jimmy's school fees if he got into a good secondary school. The compensation alone would not last long.
"Then you can come to work at the company tomorrow morning." Jenny said.
"Thanks." Abby said happily.
The system panel opened automatically after Abby hung up the phone.
[Mission: make 1 bottle of trauma medicine within 3 hours. You can get 100 points if you complete the task, 100 points will be deducted if you don't complete the task].
"What? There's a penalty if you don't complete the task?" Abby had not expected the system to be so cruel.
"Alright, I'll accept the mission." Abby said.
[Now start the countdown.]
Fortunately, Abby had learned to make medicine. She only needed to purchase the raw materials for making medicines and then synthesize them. So Abby immediately went out and bought those supplies.