Jack and Black looked at each other and smiled, as each of them knew what the other was thinking. Then, Jack turned around to find someone asking him about their whereabouts.
He stopped a passerby to ask:
Jack: "Excuse me, what is the name of this city?"
Man: "This is the city of Turhan."
Jack: "Which empire does it belong to?"
The man looked at them with curiosity—who were these people who didn't even know where they were?
Man: "It belongs to the Guardian Empire."
Jack: "Sorry, but is there a bank nearby?"
Man: "Yes, at the end of this road. Then, turn left, and you'll find a bank there."
Jack: "Thank you very much."
Black: "Let's go, Jay."
Jack looked around cautiously, scanning the surroundings with his eyes.
Jack: "Let's go."
They headed to the bank, deposited all their money into a bank account, and kept some cash for renting a house and buying necessities for a month. They decided to work and rely on themselves.
After leaving the bank, they wandered around the city for a while, searching for a place to stay.
Jack: "B, let's go to a restaurant for lunch first, then we'll continue looking for a house to rent or a hotel to stay in for the night."
Black: "Alright, let's go now."
They searched for a restaurant until they found one and sat outside to eat. While waiting for their food:
Black: "Jack, this city doesn't seem normal, does it?"
Jack: "Yeah, it looks like there's some kind of problem here."
Black: "Why did Uncle Jara bring us here? Do you think there's something we need to do here?"
Jack: "Maybe. That's why finding a house would be better than staying in a hotel. We'd be able to stay here longer that way."
The waiter arrived with their food and overheard their conversation.
Waiter: "Excuse me, but are you looking for a house to rent?"
Jack: "Yes."
Waiter: "The owner of this restaurant recently put a house up for rent. It's ready for immediate move-in, but it's a bit far from the residential areas—it's surrounded by trees and located slightly outside the city."
Black (excitedly): "Really?"
Waiter: "Yes, and the rent is not high at all."
Jack: "Can we speak with the restaurant owner?"
Waiter: "Of course."
Jack: "Alright, we'll finish our meal and then go see it. Is he here?"
Waiter: "Yes, he's here. I'll let him know to wait for you."
Jack: "Okay."
The waiter placed their food in front of them and went inside to inform the restaurant owner about the potential tenants.
Just as they were about to start eating, they noticed a young man running at an incredible speed—so fast that they almost missed seeing him.
The boy suddenly returned, astonished.
Boy: "Wait… did you just see me? How?"
Before they could answer, the sound of approaching soldiers filled the street. The boy quickly ran behind the restaurant and hid.
The soldiers arrived and asked the diners if they had seen a fast-moving boy, but everyone denied it, claiming they hadn't seen anything.
When the soldiers reached Jack and Black's table, one of them questioned Jack, while another focused on Black and asked:
Soldier: "Hey, beautiful, are you new here?"
Black glanced at Jack, giving him a discreet signal not to intervene and attract unwanted attention.
Black: "Yes, soldier, I'm new here."
Another soldier: "Come on, idiot, we don't have time for games. We need to find that rebel before he escapes."
Soldier: "Relax, we could take her with us for some entertainment while we search."
Jack's expression hardened, and Black immediately knew that stopping him was pointless.
She looked around cautiously.
Soldier (mockingly): "Are you looking for someone to help you, beautiful? Don't bother. No one here would dare to stand up for you—we're soldiers from the royal palace."
Black raised an eyebrow. "Wow."
Black (smirking): "But I'm not looking for help. I was just trying to figure out how much we'll need to pay for the damages."
The soldiers exchanged confused looks.
Black (smiling): "Don't worry, you'll understand soon enough."
the soldiers saw Jack rise to his feet.
At first, they thought he was scared and about to leave, but instead, he looked at them with cold, emotionless eyes.
Jack (calmly): "What exactly do you want her to do?"
The soldier who had been speaking to Jack glared at him defiantly.
Soldier: "What? Didn't you like what he said?"
He raised his fist to punch Jack, but before his fist could reach him, Jack grabbed the soldier's head and smashed it against the table, shattering it and everything on top of it.
At that moment, the entire atmosphere changed—tension filled the air.
The soldier attempted to attack, but Black caught him and knocked him to the ground with a punch. The remaining soldiers surrounded them, ready to kill them.
Everyone in the restaurant fled in fear—royal palace soldiers didn't care who was in their way. They would kill everyone without hesitation.
The fast young man stood frozen in shock at what he had just witnessed, revealing himself from his hiding spot.
Young Man: "No, don't fight them! They're palace soldiers! They won't leave you alone… and they're incredibly strong..."
His voice trailed off, and his expression changed as he saw the soldiers falling like birds.
Jack grabbed one of the soldiers, lifted him, and threw him against the restaurant's front, shattering the glass. Meanwhile, another soldier tried to ambush Black, but she dodged his attack and broke his arm. One of the soldiers attempted to surprise her by creating three iron arrows and launching them at her, but Jack intercepted them and redirected them back at the attacker and two other soldiers.
Black then summoned a water cyclone, striking five soldiers and sending them crashing to the ground.
The fight had lasted only five minutes, yet they had already taken down twenty soldiers.
Black: "Great. We've been here for just one day, and we're already wanted criminals."
Jack approached her, dusting off her hair and face.
Jack: "No problem. Are you okay?"
Black: "Yeah."
The young man ran toward them, a wide grin on his face.
Young Man: "Wow! That was amazing! My name is Fahd. Who are you two strong fighters?"
Black smiled at his astonished expression.
Jack: "No need for you to know."
The restaurant owner stood frozen, staring at them—what had they just done?
Jack walked over to him, realizing that this must be the owner since the waiter and staff stood behind him. The other customers had long since fled.
Jack: "I apologize for what happened to your restaurant, but I'll pay for the damage."
Owner: "Are you two new here?"
Jack: "Yes."
Owner (seriously): "Then you need to leave immediately."
Jack: "Why?"
Fahd: "Because those men are ruthless. They'll come back for you, and they won't stop until you're dead. They won't let you get away with attacking palace soldiers."
Black: "But they were the ones who insulted us first."
Fahd: "Doesn't matter. There's no doubt they captured your faces on the surveillance cameras. They'll find you quickly."
Black: "What cameras?"
Fahd: "These cameras..."
But when he turned to point at them, he found them completely burned out—every single one.
Fahd (shocked): "When… when did you do that?!"
Owner: "Leave. Now."
Jack: "We can't leave yet. We still have things to take care of."
Waiter: "Sir, they're the ones looking for a house to rent."
Owner: "Fine. The house is yours. Now go. Fahd, take them there, and don't let anyone know where they are."
Fahd: "Sir, why don't we ask them to join us?"
Owner: "No. They are not from here. This is not their fight. Now go."
Jack: What is your name, sir?
Restaurant owner: My name is Gabriel.
Black: Nice to meet you.
Jack: Let's go, Be.
Fahd accompanied them, guiding them on a path with no surveillance cameras until they reached the house. It was far from the city, just as the waiter had said, and this was exactly what they wanted to be prepared well for the organization and other matters.
Fahd: Do you need anything?
Jack looked at him and saw that he was probably around their age, and replied:
Jack: No, thank you. But how much is the rent for this house?
Fahd: You can discuss that with Uncle Gabriel later, and I mean later—don't go to him now or his restaurant, or you'll get him into bigger problems.
Black (curiously): Excuse me, Fahd, but could you tell us what's happening here?
Jack: Black.
Black: What?! We need to gather information about this city anyway to know why we're here, right? The information will help us in our preparations, won't it?
Fahd (surprised): Preparations!!! Preparations for what?
Black: Just tell me what's going on here.
Sadness and anger appeared on Fahd's face.
Fahd: It's because of the worst emperor ever, Emperor Akira. He killed his father and seized the throne. Now he's trying to kill his younger brother, whom the people love and want to be their king and emperor. But the brother managed to escape from him. Akira has allied with dangerous gangs and allowed them to do whatever they want in the empire in exchange for huge sums of money paid by those gangs. And they help him crush any rebellion if the people try to rise up and kill Prince Harry. Many of us have been killed.
Jack sat on the couch, drinking some water, indifferent to what Fahd was saying.
Fahd: It's been five years since he took the throne, but he's been tormenting his people. These gangs steal from the people, rob their money, kill whoever they want, and humiliate us. It's no longer possible to teach many children or young people, as schools and universities have become for the rich and the powerful. Even learning to use abilities has been banned for non-recruits. Our city is just one of seventeen cities here in the empire where people want to rebel because of the hardship they've faced at the hands of criminals. The plague has spread to more than three cities, but the gangs have prevented doctors from treating people unless they pay large sums of money. If people don't pay, they die from the plague and illness.
Black: What? This is injustice!
Jack: Why don't you just fight them?
Fahd (with a sarcastic smile): That's because the emperor has a very strong gang backing him. He killed the rebels with three of his soldiers, but he didn't send his soldiers to them. Instead, he sent the Alice gang (meaning "the resident evil").
He looked at them with a sad smile and continued:
"Do you know what happened afterward? They didn't kill them, but they brought their entire families, young and old, and distributed their body parts across the seventeen cities."
Fahd wiped away the tears that had betrayed him and continued:
"After that, no one dared to fight him or his soldiers, but we will fight them. First, we need to find someone who can fight those bastards in the Alice gang."
Jack: Good luck then.
Fahd: Thank you.
Fahd left the house, turned around, and looked at it with great hope.
Fahd (smiling): I think I found someone who can fight them.
Black: Jack...
Jack (interrupting): I know it's wrong what's happening to them, but we also have a war to fight. Don't forget, they must have now realized that our training has finished, and they'll come for us soon. If we get involved in another issue now, we won't have time to prepare for their arrival. Right, Be?
Black: Right.
Jack patted her head.
Jack: Well done. Now, let's secure this house.
They then explored the house, checking the entrances and exits, and found that the house had an advanced security system, with surveillance cameras, sensors, and other safety measures.
Black: This house has an advanced security system.
Jack: Yes, that's great.
He then went inside and called out to Black.
Jack: Black, we need a way to reach each other if we get separated or lost, okay?
He continued with a warning:
"And from now on, never go out without me, like you do early in the morning."
Black (smiling): What should I do when I wake up early? I just want to go out.
Jack: But here, that's strictly forbidden. If you do it, I'll hang you on the front door.
She couldn't hide her smile.
Jack (annoyed): Laugh all you want, we'll see then.
Black: What do you think about the energy chips?
Jack: Well, but they...
Black (interrupting): Don't worry, I'll be fine.
Jack: Fine.
They each created a chip from their own energy.
Black placed her hand on Jack's heart to put the chip inside, but she was worried about causing him pain.
Black: Jack, this will hurt a little. Please bear with it.
She hesitated, knowing it would feel like a bullet to the heart, so Jack held her hand and pressed it against his chest.
Jack: Don't worry, do it. I'm not a child to feel pain.
She placed it in his heart. It hurt, but he didn't show it to her. When it was his turn to put the chip in her heart, he created an illusion around her. Suddenly, Black found herself in the ocean, surrounded by huge whales, and she truly loved whales. Jack was skilled at illusion magic. She felt something hit her chest and saw that a fish had bumped into her.
Black (smiling): Hello, little fish.
She hadn't noticed when he placed the chip in her heart.
Jack looked at her, smiling, seeing her joy and how much she was enjoying the underwater journey, not even noticing the pain when the chip was placed in her heart.
Black (suddenly realizing): Wait, I was just at home. How did I get... Ahh, Jack, you tricked me.
The illusion faded around her.
Black: Jack, why did you do that?
Jack: So you wouldn't feel the pain.
Black (grumbling): Jaaaack... Don't treat me like a child. I'm not a little girl.
Jack smiled at her behavior and messed with her hair.
Jack: Okay, okay, little one.
Black got angry at what he said and hit him with a pillow.
Black: You're so annoying. I'm going to sleep now.
Jack (laughing): Don't sleep now. You haven't eaten anything since morning. I'll make some quick food.
Black (drowsily): No, I just want to sleep.
Jack: Wait just five minutes.
He went to the kitchen to look for something but found nothing.
When he came out to tell her he would go out to buy food, he found that she had already fallen asleep on the couch. He gently picked her up and carried her to her room, covered her well, adjusted the air conditioner to match the temperature, and left the room. Then, he secured the house one last time and the surrounding area. The house was fully equipped and didn't need any adjustments from their perspective.
Then, he went to sleep as well since it had been a day full of events.
In the early morning, Black woke up. She went to see Jack, but he was still sleeping, so she didn't wake him up.
She went to her room, got her bag, took out some clothes, and got ready to go out. She knew Jack would be very angry if she went out alone, but he was sleeping deeply, and she couldn't wake him. She knew that after a while, he might not be able to rest for some time, so she left him.
She headed to the kitchen to see what she needed to buy, then left the house to go to the city. She didn't forget to wear a mask because of the plague Fahd had told them about yesterday.
She bought what she needed, and on her way back, she decided to stop by the pharmacy to get some medicines they might need. Though they had their own medicines that she prepared, she wanted to be cautious in case of an emergency.
She was surprised by what she saw—there were many patients asking for medicine, but the gang members were standing in front of the pharmacy, preventing them from entering unless they paid a sum of money. Once they entered, they had to pay again to buy the medicine. During this, a patient collapsed in front of her, unable to breathe. She rushed to help him, examined him, then took a syringe from her bag and prepared it. When she tried to inject the patient, one of the gang members grabbed her hand and told her that she had to pay first. She punched him and sent him flying, then injected the patient. After a couple of minutes, the man could finally breathe.
Just as the gang members were about to catch her, Fahd appeared suddenly and whisked her away quickly. They stopped after a while when Fahd noticed the soldiers had stopped chasing them.
Black (amazed): Wow, you're so fast! What's the secret behind your speed?
Fahd (amazed): And you, what's the secret behind your punch? The gang members were so stunned by what happened!
Another beautiful girl appeared, but she looked upset. She had long black hair and sharp brown eyes.
Girl: Fahd, you idiot! Why did you show up with her? She and her boyfriend were the ones who fought the soldiers yesterday, right?
Black was shocked by what she said and pointed at herself.
Black (shocked): Boyfriend!?
Fahd: Helena, calm down a little.
Helena: How can I calm down? Look at what you've done! I told you to find a doctor, not trouble.
Fahd: She's a doctor.
Black: How did you know?
.....
Don't forget to like the chapter if you liked it❤️
I'm waiting for your opinion in the comments 👇.
Question for the focused ones 😁👀
How did Fadh know she's a doctor🤔?!
I'm waiting for your answers in the comments 😊.
Peace 🫡