The first rays of sunlight hadn't yet touched the horizon when Laurel heard movement in the apartment's small living area. He'd been awake all night, watching over the girl while Nelson slept, his mind racing with questions about what he'd done and what consequences would follow.
The girl sat up on the couch where Laurel had laid her, the oversized sweater still draped around her. She looked significantly better than she had hours ago—color had returned to her face, and her eyes were clear and alert rather than glazed with near-death.
Nelson emerged from the bedroom, rubbing sleep from his eyes. He froze when he saw the girl.
"Laurel... who is that?" he asked slowly.
"It's complicated," Laurel replied. "Let me get her some food first, then I'll explain."
After the girl had eaten—consuming the simple meal of rice and eggs with an appetite that suggested she hadn't eaten in days—she finally spoke.
"My name is Lily," she said quietly, her voice still weak but steady. "I'm eighteen years old, from the UXA—United X America—on the western continent."
"How did you end up in that portal?" Laurel asked. "In that white house?"
Lily's expression became troubled, almost frightened. "I... I don't remember. I don't know how I got there. The last thing I remember clearly is being in my home city, and then... nothing. Just waking up to you touching my forehead."
"You don't remember anything about that place?" Nelson pressed.
She shook her head. "Nothing. It's like there's a gap in my memory. I know who I am, where I'm from, but how I ended up there..." She trailed off, looking at her hands. "Why was I like that? Why couldn't I move?"
Laurel exchanged a glance with Nelson before explaining about vital energy, Pulse Nodes, and how close to death she had been. Lily listened with wide eyes, absorbing information about a world she clearly hadn't known existed.
"So you saved my life," she said finally, looking at Laurel. "By giving me your own energy."
"Yeah," Laurel replied. "And probably made myself a wanted man in the process."
After discussing their options, the decision was clear. Lily needed to get back to the UXA, and the brothers needed to leave Blackwater Ridge before the bounty on Laurel's head became public knowledge. Staying together made sense—at least until they understood what Lily had been involved in and why.
They packed quickly and headed to the airport.
None of them noticed the man who began following them the moment they left the apartment building. Marvel moved like a shadow through the crowds, maintaining a careful distance, his professional instincts telling him that patience would serve better than immediate confrontation.
At the airport, as Laurel, Nelson, and Lily approached the ticket counter, Marvel made a brief call. Within minutes, airport security received discreet orders: let the three proceed, but document their destination and flight information.
Marvel watched them board the plane to the UXA with cold, analytical eyes. He could take them now—three targets in a confined space. But his mission parameters were clear: recover the girl intact, and crowds meant witnesses, complications, potential casualties.
Better to wait for the right moment.
He boarded the same flight, several rows behind them, and settled in for the journey.
The UXA was immediately different from anything the brothers had experienced. Where Blackwater Ridge was lawless and chaotic, the UXA was the opposite—heavily regulated, with military and police presence everywhere. As the headquarters of the World Union and home to the largest concentration of adventurers in the world, the entire nation seemed built around the portal system.
But something was wrong.
The moment they stepped off the plane, they could see it. Every street, every district, every city across the nation was filled with protesters. The unrest wasn't limited to Lakemont—news screens in the airport showed massive demonstrations in every major city across the UXA. Thousands upon thousands of people marched with signs reading "E'S AI STOLE OUR JOBS" and "HUMANS DESERVE WORK."
The unemployment crisis caused by the advanced artificial intelligence system known as E's AI had created nationwide chaos. Entire industries had been automated overnight, leaving millions without work. With presidential elections rapidly approaching, the tension had reached a breaking point.
Laurel's phone chimed. A mission notification.
**MASS OPERATION - URGENT**
**Required Personnel: 500 Adventurers**
**Current Participants: 338**
**Location: Portal Site 7, Lakemont**
**Mission Objective: Retrieve an enchanted sword from the Joseon Dynasty**
**Time Limit: 7 Days**
**Compensation: 50,000 Ecoins per participant**
"They're short on candidates because of all this," Nelson said, gesturing at the protests visible through the airport windows. "Most adventurers are probably caught up in the chaos across the country."
"Or they're being smart and staying away from a mission that needs five hundred people," Laurel muttered. "That's not a retrieval operation. That's a small army."
But they needed the money, and more importantly, they needed to disappear into a large group where Laurel would be harder to track. A mission with five hundred participants provided excellent cover.
They accepted the mission and made their way to Portal Site 7.