As all this unfolded, time seemed to slow. My home—no, it couldn't be called home anymore—was surrounded by soldiers and snipers. Sensing the danger, my sanity level spiked to 10%. I burst into laughter, loud and wild. The two agents backed away, fear in their eyes.
In the midst of my laughter, her phone rang. He asked, "Who is it?"
She glanced at the screen. "It's from the commanding chief."
Hearing this, I calmed down, sat on the sofa, crossed my legs, and stared up at the ceiling. I started talking to no one in particular, my voice cracking. "You know, when Mom was dying…her last wish—"
She picked up the phone. On the other end, the commander's voice boomed, "What are you morons doing? How much time do you need?" There was an exasperated sigh. "What's the target's condition?" he demanded. Seeing me mumbling like a lunatic, she replied, "I'm afraid we can't control him, sir."
He snorted. "An uncontrollable weapon is something we don't need—"
Before he could finish, a stone materialized in my hand. In one swift motion, I threw it. The stone struck her head—she was dead instantly. I stood up.
Evan pointed his gun at me, his hands trembling. I continued talking to the empty room, "My mom's last wish…she just wanted me to live well and be happy."
Evan's fear intensified. "Stop! Stop whatever you're doing!"
I laughed darkly. "Oh? Are you scared?"
I stared at Evan, my gaze intense. "What? What are you doing? Why don't you just kill me? You know, Evan—bullets can still hurt me." I pointed at my heart for emphasis.
He shook his head. "I can't kill you."
I frowned. "Why?"
He didn't answer directly, but motioned to the corpse. I looked—and saw it was dissolving, turning into blue particles that merged into the air. In its place was a tiny potion labeled: Speed Potion (60 seconds).
I froze, staring. Just then, the commander's arrogant voice boomed through the phone. "Hey kid, whatever that potion is, you hand it over to our government for research. It's for the greater good of humanity." His tone dripped with greed and arrogance—maybe Evan didn't notice, but I sure did. I credit Nola for that insight.
From within the beast taming space, Nola's voice echoed in my mind: Of course, you big dummy. I'm a cosmic bear—sensing emotions is a piece of cake for me.
My expression went flat as my sanity level crept up to 15%.
Sensing my tension, Nola's voice turned urgent: Stupid master, don't be nervous. Just take the temporary speed boost potion and run!
I nodded, ready to act.
A few minutes passed as both the commander and Nola urged me to take the potion and use it. I let out a sigh.
Suddenly, my sanity level returned to normal. The panel updated: Sanity Level – 0%.
"I refuse," I said flatly, shocking everyone in the room.
"But—but, Master—" Nola protested, but I cut her off, my voice warm. "Nola, aren't you the Cosmic Bear? No buts, Nola. If I can't even escape this, I'm not worthy to be your master." She nodded in silent appreciation at the gesture.
Turning to Evan and the commander on the phone, I continued in a steady, emotionless tone, "I know I killed her mercilessly, but I refuse to desecrate or disrespect the body like that. I'll take the potion, but I won't drink it. I'm going to bury her."
The commander's facade dropped, his voice turning harsh as he barked an order to the team outside: "Capture this lunatic!"
The door burst open and soldiers stormed in, guns drawn and aimed squarely at me. I sighed and calmly slipped the potion into the beast taming space. "You know, killing people is easy, but—"
Before I could finish, I sprang into action. I grabbed the nearest soldier's gun, twisting it from his grip, and delivered a powerful kick to his chest, the impact cracking his ribs. "Now this—this is tough," I muttered, feeling the strain of holding back my true power.
The remaining soldiers opened fire. The bullets were rubber—not lethal, but more than enough to hurt. The shots slammed into me, forcing me to stagger back, retreating toward my room.
I sat in the back of a vehicle, hands cuffed and eyes covered by a blindfold. Two soldiers flanked me, one on each side, mocking and laughing at my so-called "stupid decisions." I stayed silent, but inside, I burned with defiance—unwilling to be anyone's puppet, least of all the government's.
Unbeknownst to me, nine figures watched the vehicle's progress from a distance. One of them asked, "Did he drink the potion?"
A woman shook her head. "No, he didn't."
He nodded. "Good. Then let's proceed." He turned to a young-looking woman—about thirty years old, five years older than me. "Go and rescue that kid."
She shrugged. "Alright, whatever." With that, she vanished from sight.
To the rest of the group, she called, "Let's go. We still have two more who refused to drink the potion."
On the way, one of them sighed. "Only three people made it through today. What's happening to humanity?"
The others echoed his sigh, a heavy silence settling over them as they moved out.
She appeared in front of the speeding vehicles, but the convoy didn't slow—they accelerated. She wasn't surprised. From her spatial ring, she produced a gas mask and slipped it on, then pulled out several potion vials filled with a gas-like substance. Sighing in frustration, she muttered, "Man, it took a lot of effort to drop these items. I hate this government." Gritting her teeth, she hurled the vials angrily at the vehicles.
Inside, I had no idea what was happening, but I suddenly inhaled some kind of gas. Before I could pass out, Nola used her power—dispelling the gas from my system and jolting me awake.
When I opened my eyes, I saw chaos. The vehicles had all crashed—mine was smashed against a tree. Everyone inside was injured but alive, and all of them were fast asleep from the gas. I sighed and climbed out of the wreckage.
She was waiting outside, surprised to see me conscious, but only shrugged. I eyed her warily, instinctively ready to run—my senses screamed that she was strong.
She sighed, half-amused. "Anyway, whatever, kid." She handed me an encrypted private phone number. Seeing no threat, I took the card.
As she turned to leave, she shot a flat look over her shoulder. "By the way, you owe me a couple of sleeping potions."
"What?" I called after her, but she just took a step and vanished.
I sighed. "Great. Looks like I owe someone now."
Rain poured down in heavy sheets as I crouched under an umbrella, a cigarette smoldering between my fingers. Beside me, Nola was patting down the earth, carefully burying something. "Do it properly, Nola—don't let those government bastards find it," I instructed.
She responded with a playful salute, "Aye aye, captain!" and continued her work. The rain didn't seem to bother her at all; in fact, with her thick fur, she looked downright happy to be soaking wet, grinning as she pressed the soil with a satisfied little huff.