Rhodes Island??
Lucas Reeve was stunned.
To actually run into Rhodes Island in Sargon... this was something Lucas Reeve had never expected. As a core employee of Rhodes Island, Lucas Reeve also knew that Rhodes Island did indeed have many contact points all over the world, but he hadn't expected there to be Rhodes Island personnel here in Sargon, in the depths of a desert where no outsiders ever came.
"Hello, I am Beeswax..."
The adorable little Beeswax walked over timidly. She was still quite shy around outsiders. After all, she had grown up in the village surrounded by acquaintances, so she easily got nervous when seeing strangers, especially when strangers took the initiative to speak to her.
"Um, excuse me, Luc... I have a friend who wants to leave this place. Can he leave with you?"
These three Rhodes Island Operators glanced at Lucas Reeve and nodded friendly.
"Of course."
And after Lucas Reeve watched the three of them for a moment, he finally remembered that he had seen them once before. At first glance, they looked exactly the same as he remembered, with almost no difference. Finally seeing someone he remotely recognized, Lucas Reeve also let out a complete sigh of relief. Since their appearances hadn't changed much, it meant not much time had passed. At most, he had only been submerged in water for a year or two, or three at the most. This time span was still acceptable.
It was just a pity.
He wondered how Sona was doing. With Raythean Industries' protection, her safety shouldn't be an issue. He was just afraid the people from the Chamber of Commerce would continue to play dirty tricks in the arena.
Beeswax turned her head to say goodbye to her hometown, and boarded the Rhodes Island Land-runner with Lucas Reeve, which then turned around and left.
According to Beeswax, the reason she left her hometown was because she wanted to find her family. Her family was at Rhodes Island, an Operator for Rhodes Island. However, they had gone out to perform a secret mission, so Beeswax probably wouldn't get to see them even if she went, but she planned to go to Rhodes Island and wait for her family.
After getting on the vehicle, Lucas Reeve found a random person and asked for a phone. The mobile phones of these ordinary Operators couldn't directly dial Columbia; they could only call Rhodes Island. Lucas Reeve had him help dial Amiya.
"Buddy? You know Amiya?"
One of the Rhodes Island Operators was a bit puzzled. He had come to Rhodes Island quite early. Although he was still just an ordinary Operator, he had seen almost everyone at Rhodes Island, but he had never seen this young man before. This young man was very handsome; such a handsome guy should be quite eye-catching, almost impossible to forget after seeing him once.
"I'm Amiya's friend. We used to see each other often."
"Oh, oh~"
Seeing that the other party didn't want to explain too much, this Rhodes Island Operator didn't say anything more. Since he knew Amiya, it meant he was one of their own. After all, Amiya's current identity hadn't been made public at all. Due to her age, the person in charge announced to the public was Kal'tsit. To be able to say Amiya's name meant he was truly one of them.
The call connected.
After a moment, Amiya's clear voice came from the other end.
"Hello? Burke, what is it?"
Lucas Reeve smiled. "Amiya, it's me."
"You are?"
Amiya didn't recognize his voice, because the Doctor's voice was different from the voice Lucas Reeve's soul body produced.
"My surname is Reeve."
Lucas Reeve said simply. Afterwards, the phone went silent for a long time, and then a sound loud enough to pierce eardrums, like a rabbit's roar, erupted from the phone.
"Ahhhhh!! Doctor! You're back?!!"
Although it wasn't on speaker, Amiya's voice was really too loud; it was impossible for the other three not to hear it. So, just as Amiya was about to say the Doctor's name, Lucas Reeve had already used his power to automatically filter the hearing of the three Rhodes Island Operators.
This was the power of Lucas Reeve possessing a physical body. With the main soul's blessing, Lucas Reeve's strength could be described as terrifying. It's just that he had never really used it, and Lucas Reeve rarely fought against true god-level enemies. He had never even seen a god-level person fight with their full strength, so he didn't know what level of a god's power he had currently reached.
"Hmm, I'm back."
"Wuuu!! Doctor, I missed you so much. Do you know how I've gotten through this long time? I thought you might need a very long time to come back, that I might never see you again in my lifetime."
Amiya's crying voice was clearly audible over the phone. It was clear that Amiya truly missed Lucas Reeve.
"Hey, don't cry. Aren't I back now? What year is it? How long was I asleep this time?"
Amiya said: "For me, it's been a long time, but for a god, perhaps it's very short. It's November 1095. Doctor, you were asleep for eight months..."
?
Only eight months?
Not even a year??
Lucas Reeve was completely stunned. He thought he had been asleep for a very long time. That's it?
But, thinking about it carefully, eight months was indeed reasonable.
After all, his consciousness was complete, and although his soul was fragmented, his main soul was intact. His power was complete, just sealed. The only thing he needed to do was condense a physical body. With everything complete, and with a steady stream of Prayer Power being injected, if it wasn't fast, Lucas Reeve himself would have suspected something was wrong.
"Do me a favor, Amiya. Patch the signal through Rhodes Island's base station to Jessica's side. I'll chat in detail when I get back to Rhodes Island."
"Mhm!"
———————
"Boohoo! Senior Franka, I dreamed of Mr. Reeve last night... In the dream, Mr. Reeve told me he would never come back!"
Originally, Jessica thought she was reluctant to part with Lucas Reeve purely because she had never been away from him, so she was just not used to it for a while. She had to be strong, to strongly welcome Lucas Reeve back. However, the longer she waited, the more time passed, and not only did Jessica's heart not feel the slightest relief, she missed him more and more.
Eight months had passed now.
Jessica's mental state was getting worse and worse. She hadn't been to the company for many days. Even Nine-Colored Deer made a special trip back to Columbia to make Jessica a nutritious meal to restore her mental state.
"Hey! Don't overthink it. Dreams are the opposite of reality. If he said in the dream he's never coming back, in reality, he might be back soon. Maybe even today?"
"It's all that Nian's fault."
Dusk complained from the sofa.
"That Nian often speaks without thinking, always saying outrageous things that make people anxious. Now that fellow has left for Yumen City, just washed her hands of it."
"However, Sona's competition over there isn't looking too optimistic. Yesterday, in the match to advance from the top 16 to the top 8, the Chamber of Commerce people just stopped playing fair. Sona was quite badly injured. I reckon those people from the Chamber of Commerce have noticed something, because Sona is now displaying her own strength, whereas Lucas Reeve was substitute-playing for her during the Spring Major."
To divert Jessica's attention, Franka directly changed the subject so she would stop dwelling on Lucas Reeve.
Just then.
A call suddenly came to Jessica's personal mobile phone.
"Hmm?"
Jessica was a little puzzled when she saw the unfamiliar number she had never seen before.
This phone number was purely personal; very few people knew it, only her parents, family, and close friends. And due to her special status, it was impossible for scam or advertising calls to get through to Jessica's phone. Even if they misdialed, they couldn't get through. Only acquaintances who knew the secret could.
But this number was extremely unfamiliar.
Jessica pressed answer.
"Hello? Who is this, please?"
There was no sound from the phone.
Jessica frowned slightly, and Franka, Skadi, and the others beside her also stepped forward.
"Hello..."
Jessica narrowed her eyes. She somewhat suspected it was an enemy with ill intentions and was just about to have someone investigate the origin of this phone number when a voice that Jessica had missed for so many days came from the phone.
"It's me, Jessica."
*Clack...*
Jessica froze.
Her brain seemed to have shut down, and the hand holding the phone seemed to lose all its strength. The phone clattered and fell to the ground.
And at this moment, when everyone looked up at Jessica, they found she was already in tears.
At that moment, everyone had already guessed who the caller was.
Laurentina saw this, immediately bent down agilely, picked up the phone, smiled slightly, and said in a sweet voice.
"You still know how to come back, huh? I thought you had already forgotten us."
Skadi immediately snatched the phone.
"Long time no see, Lucas Reeve. I miss..."
Surtr frowned, also snatched the phone, and said one line.
"Me too."
Finally, Franka snatched it, pressed the speakerphone button, and made a 'shrugging guy' pose.
"I just woke up too. I didn't expect to run into Rhodes Island people in Sargon. Don't you think it's a coincidence? I'm heading to Rhodes Island right away, but since I'm in a Land-runner, it'll probably take a long time. If it's convenient, you guys fly [Stardust] over. I'll send you the approximate route I'll be taking."
"Mhm!!!"
Jessica wiped her tears and nodded excitedly.
Jessica originally thought she would have a lot to say, but she didn't expect that when her fantasy truly came true, a thousand words finally condensed into one sentence.
"Welcome back, Mr. Reeve!!"
Among the crowd, only Dusk and Nine-Colored Deer felt nothing.
Because... eight months might be a long time for humans, but for gods, it was too, too short.
So short it was equivalent to eight hours for a human, maybe not even eight hours.
So, in Dusk and Nine-Colored Deer's eyes, it was as if Lucas Reeve went to work in the morning, then didn't come home for lunch, and only came home after getting off work in the afternoon. Yet, Jessica was waiting at home, about to cry.
How to put it...
Incomprehensible.
Humans and gods truly find it hard to empathize in some aspects.
————————
Lucas Reeve returned the phone to the Operator and leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes to rest, waiting for Jessica to arrive. About three and a half hours passed. The Land-runner hadn't even left Sargon yet, but Lucas Reeve could already sense [Stardust] entering his perceptible range. The materials used for [Stardust] were very special, and the runes inscribed on it were also very special, allowing it to directly link with Lucas Reeve's soul like WiFi. As long as it was close, he could sense it.
After [Stardust] entered his soul's range, its manual piloting mode also switched to fully autonomous piloting mode. To the utter confusion of the three Rhodes Island members, the massive [Stardust] slowly descended into the forest.
Beeswax had seen Land-runners before, because a few explorers had driven over to explore in the past. But an aircraft of this level, Beeswax had truly never seen. When [Stardust] landed, Beeswax's eyes nearly popped out. Not just Beeswax, the three Rhodes Island Operators were also beyond baffled.
Rhodes Island had two low-altitude aircraft.
But... their appearance was still a bit... plain. The aircraft before them, however, seemed to be a *true* aircraft, maxed out on sci-fi coolness.
"Mr. Reeve!!"
When the aircraft landed.
Jessica was the first to rush out of the cabin, with the others following closely behind. Although they could easily outrun Jessica, no one would snatch her first-place position.
The Land-runner's door opened.
Lucas Reeve and Beeswax walked out of the cabin. Just as they got out, Lucas Reeve opened his arms and caught Jessica, who had flopped over, in his embrace, spinning her around once.
"Yo, this body of yours isn't bad. Pretty handsome."
Franka walked over, and just like always, slung an arm over Lucas Reeve's shoulders. Skadi walked over and stuck her head out, looking like an orca wanting to be petted. Lucas Reeve also smiled, petting Skadi's smooth, silver-white head hard several times, and Skadi clearly enjoyed the feeling.
"I want some too!"
Laurentina walked over, smiled slyly, and pressed her body against Lucas Reeve.
Finally, Surtr, not to be outdone, although she looked a bit dazed and tsundere, was satisfied only after Lucas Reeve petted her head a few times as well.
After receiving the news.
Zumama had also taken leave from school and come along. She was very envious that Skadi and the others could just walk over so directly, but... Zumama always felt that if she went over like that, it would be very inappropriate.
"Oho, and who is this??"
Laurentina had sharp eyes. She immediately spotted Beeswax, who was hiding timidly behind Lucas Reeve. Laurentina couldn't help but laugh, deliberately feigning curiosity.
"Lucas Reeve, this young lady is??"
At Laurentina's reminder, the other girls finally noticed that there seemed to be another young girl next to Lucas Reeve.
"H... Hello, sisters. I am Lord Lucas Reeve's believer..."
Beeswax said nervously.
"Lord? Believer??"
Laurentina pursed her lips: "I didn't expect you to be so kinky, Lucas Reeve. Did you watch some movie that made you want to play out this scene? You must have woken up a long time ago but just didn't tell little sister Jessica, right? Letting little sister Jessica wait bitterly at home, while you were out finding pretty young girls."
Faced with Laurentina's routine teasing, everyone was already almost immune, because... they had heard it too many times. Jessica didn't mind at all. As long as Lucas Reeve was back, that was enough for her!