Chapter 11
After they finished the introduction, the group ate awkwardly in the cafeteria and quickly completed their meals. Ai summoned them to a room before they left, piquing their curiosity about her reasons.
They walked down the endless white corridor toward the room Ai had mentioned, following the blue light that illuminated the center of the floor. The silence was palpable; they moved without conversation, interrupted only by small whispers among themselves. Meanwhile, Leia awkwardly hid behind Maya, too embarrassed to face Alex after what had happened earlier.
"You should stop hiding in the back," Maya said, glancing over her shoulder at Leia.
'Like I could do that,' Leia thought, feeling humiliated for revealing her more vulnerable side, especially in front of Alex. 'What would he think of me after what I've shown him? Oh, I wish I could just hide in a hole for eternity.'
However, Alex didn't seem too affected by the earlier incident; he was more intrigued by the differences among them, particularly why the others had longer, pointier ears while his were small and round.
Eventually, they reached the room Ai had indicated. Inside, they found mechanical arms constructing something in the center of the space. Sparks flew as machines moved about the room. At the center, a small floating platform was being worked on by the mechanical hands.
"Ai, what are they building?" Jing asked, gazing at the small floating platform and the hands busily crafting something upon it. He was fascinated by the platform's ability to float without any visible Anima supporting it; it appeared to utilize another form of energy. Activating his spirit eyes, Jing discerned that the energy source emanated from the flat platform itself.
Suddenly, all the mechanical arms halted and gradually retracted into the walls, revealing what they had been constructing. The floating platform began to descend to the center of the room. The group fixated their gaze on the descending platform, and as it touched down, a black metal box emerged, glowing white in its cracks. It moved like a Rubik's cube, absorbing information from the facility's database.
The black cube hovered in mid-air before suddenly transforming into a sphere and starting to float toward them. Instinctively, the group drew their weapons, preparing for a potential attack from the mysterious floating sphere.
Then, to their surprise, the sphere spoke in a woman's voice. "Hello, everyone. It is I, Ai. I will be accompanying you on your journey to monitor Subject 10, or should I say, Alexander."
This unexpected turn of events took the group by surprise; their numbers had now increased.
Outside the facility, the group was preparing to leave. The horses outside were hungry because they hadn't been fed the night before, causing them to squeal in hunger. Larry and Barry fed the horses with the supplies of food they had brought, and the animals gobbled up the carrots in their hands.
"Are you sure you want to come along with us?" Jing asked, looking at the floating sphere beside him. It was Ai, transferring her system into the black sphere.
"Yes, I need to take care of him. He is my sole responsibility given to me by my creators," the sphere replied, bouncing up and down as if nodding.
It was early in the morning, and as the sun began to rise, the group started moving forward on their journey. Suddenly, a green bird spirit appeared, flying towards them. The bird was a messenger for the elven royal family, trained to send messages. It located them because it had formed a bond with Jing, allowing only him to send and receive messages through the bird.
The group gazed at the bird, curious about the message it had for them. Alex, who was unfamiliar with the magical world, was confused as to why a glowing green bird was landing on Jing's shoulder.
Jing took the letter tied to the bird's left leg and began to read. "It says here that a new race has reached out to us from the sea. They are called mermaids, a species living in the seas nearby." The group was surprised to learn that another race had made contact with them. Jing reassured everyone that the king and queen would handle the new guests.
After nodding in agreement, the group continued down the road toward Dragon's Land, where the elves had spotted a dragon soaring above. Although the elves were afraid to step into that territory, the group decided to take the shortcut through the dragon's land.
They walked for five days and finally reached the end of the mountain range, arriving in Dragon's Land. Jing planned to take the shorter route because he was able to communicate with the dragon residing in that area.
Dragon's Land resembled any other forest, filled with trees, animals grazing on grass, and a lake connected to the sea. At the center stood a giant mountain surrounded by trees, with a cave at its base that served as a shortcut to the dwarven kingdom. However, this cave was home to a dragon that governed the land.
"Sir, are you sure the dragon will allow us to pass?" Delton whispered, concerned about their safety.
"Don't worry. I've already talked to her; she is okay with us passing through. She isn't dangerous," Jing replied confidently, trusting in the dragon's assurance.
Jing had visited the dragon multiple times, but no one knew the reason for his visits. Occasionally, earthquakes would occur in Dragon's Land whenever Jing was there, but most of the time, it was peaceful. It was rumored that Jing kept the dragon at bay by fighting it and calming its thirst for blood.
As the group continued walking, a bush nearby began to shake, revealing a creature watching them. Oblivious to the danger, they continued forward, walking in the forest, trying to find where the case is, but the creature noticed that one of the people in the group was Jing, leading the group towards the cave. The creature suddenly lunged at Jing, catching the group by surprise.