《Dream Engineer》


 Prologue: The boy chained to the wall

    Amidst the vast starry sky, a massive battleship was currently flying towards it¡¯s base. The ship was enormous and it was obvious that it was a massive battle cruiser. More than a cruiser, it was more like a giant flying fortress. On the hull of the massive battleship was an emblem of a golden lion holding a sword. This was the national emblem for the Krieghrich Empire, a superpower that ruled over 12 planets. The regime of Kriegrich Empire was a strict military one.


    The position of the Emperor was passed down within the family and the Emperor was also the Supreme Chief of Command. If he said to go right, then everyone would only go right, no one would even dare to think of going to the left. The Emperors words were supreme and anyone who disobeyed them, regardless of their status, would end up executed.


    Inside the massive battle cruiser, inside the holding area of prisoners, there was a young boy that was barely ten years old. The cell the young boy was in was completely covered in lime green stone. The material the cell was covered in was called ¡°Adatantium¡±.


    It was a very special material that actually was able to nullify a person¡¯s ability to use their ESP ability. Scientists have been researching Adatantium for decades if not even centuries but they still could not replicate the conditions to create Adatantium themselves.


    Their only income of the special mineral was from meteors and asteroids, however not every single meteor or asteroid gave birth to this mineral. Also, the ones that gave birth to it, did so in miniscule amounts as after refining the ore, there would only be about 10-20kg of it. Veins that produced more were a top level national secret.


    Besides the room covered in a layer of Adatantium, the young boy also had his hands and feet chained with with chains made of Adatantium. The little boy¡¯s appearance was actually very unsightly. His light blonde hair had traces of blood in it and his shirt shirt and pants were also in tatters and covered in blood. On his body, there were many signs of beating, cuts and even scorch marks. The young boy also looked like he had not had a decent meal for months.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Outside the cells, there was a squad of 10 men fully armed and in full battle gear. They were there just in case that the little boy decided to do something. All the other prisoner¡¯s were scared witless when they saw the treatment that the malnourished little boy was given. In the cell adjacent to the little boy¡¯s was a brawny bald man. His cell was pure white and he only had handcuffs on him. His face held many scars and normally he would look quite vicious but currently the brawny man was quite scared. He had been there when the little boy had been brought in.


    The Captain of the ship personally escorted the boy here and until now, the security around him had not relaxed one bit. Finally, the brawny man could not hold his curiosity back any more and asked one of the guards, ¡°Hey, what the hell is up with that little boy? Isn¡¯t it a tad too much of security for a little boy that seems like he is about to die?¡±


    The guard acted as though he had not heard anything. Seeing the guard give him a cold shoulder, the brawny man hit the transparent cell door and shouted, ¡°Answer me fucker! What Fuck did that little boy do, massacre a fleet or something?!¡± The guard again acted as if he had not heard anything.


    Just as the brawny man was about to give up and turn around, he heard a weak voice, ¡°The reason for this treatment is that I escaped ¡°Garden of Eden¡± and killed off all of my pursuers. However, who would have thought that they would send a Fleet Commander after me?¡±


    Hearing this the weak voice explain it, the guards immediately went on guard as the leader shouted, ¡°Hey, shut up. You will be punished according to the rules when we get back.¡±


    Hearing this the young boy just laughed weakly, ¡°Do you honestly think that you guys can keep me locked up in the Bird Cage? The moment these chains come off, I am out of there.¡±


    *Cough* *Cough* *Cough*


    The boy had a coughing fit and coughed a few bits of blood as well. Then the young boy just smiled with a trickle of blood running down the corner of his mouth, ¡°I escaped once, I can do it again.¡± Hearing this rebuttal, the guard who shouted before wanted to say something but suddenly the ship shook.


    *Boom*


    Just as the boom echoed out, an alarm was blasted to the speakers, ¡°Enemy attack! Everyone battle stations!¡±

 Chapter 1: Great Escape

    Hearing the alarm, the young boy¡¯s eyes flashed. If he was given the slightest opportunity, he would escape. All the people that were in the holding cells had an alarmed expression on as one asked in a disbelief, ¡°Who would dare to attack the Flagship of the 13th Special Attack Operations Fleet?¡± However, in a cell that was very far away from the little boy, there was a burly old man with short grey hair that was smiling. He was inside a normal cell and actually had very lax security. His hands weren¡¯t even cuffed.


    The man with grey hair had a muscular body and was currently wearing a black tank top with brown shorts and military boots. The old man closed his eyes and murmured, ¡°Finally they come, I was starting to think that they would let the ship rendezvous with the fleet.¡± Hearing alarm, the guards entered the little boy¡¯s holding cell. Four men were holding the young boy at gun point while two were aiming at the cell door and the last four had divided themselves. Two were aiming towards one end of the hallway, where a door was and the other two were aiming at the other side of the hallway. This was a tight guard that did not allow the little boy to even make one suspicious move while the doors leading to the imprisonment area were tightly monitored.


    They had received an order from the Captain before, that if the ship goes into battle mode, no matter who, anyone who enters those two doors will be shot without a moments hesitation. As the sounds of explosions and firing grew fiercer and fiercer outside, soon sounds of firing and yelling were also heard from inside the ship itself. As the sounds of battle neared, everyone visibly tensed up.


    It did not matter if they were the guards or prisoners, all of them tensed up and then suddenly, one of the doors at the end of the hallway opened. The moment it opened, the two guards, who had been pointing at the door, shot at the person at the door without any hesitation. After they had emptied their magazines, they were greeted by a humanoid steel golem.


    The steel golem just laughed, ¡°What are your puny Physical Rounds going to do now?¡± As he said so, the giant hunk of steel dashed forward and rushed towards the guards. Just as the two guards, who had been guarding the other end of the hallway, turned around to shoot at the giant hunk of steel, the other door leading to the prison area was blasted open.


    *Siu*


    *Siu*


    Two bullets made of compressed air flew through the heads of the two guards that just turned around. Before the other two could reload their weapons the giant hunk of steel had arrived before them and as he swung his massive arm down, he directly squashed one of the guards heads. As for the other, he was smacked away like a fly and he flew out of the prison area into the hallway and as he hit the wall, only bones breaking could be heard as blood trickled down from the corners of his mouth and nose.


    The guards who were aiming at the cell¡¯s doorway, immediately shot at the sight of the steel man. However, only spark flew off of him as the bullets bounced off of him. Suddenly, one of the guard who was keeping the young boy at gun point shouted, ¡°Use Energy Rounds! Unless it is a cannon, Physical Rounds can¡¯t hurt him.¡± Seeing the peculiar scene of 4 men holding a little malnourished boy, that was chained to a wall, at gun point, the man covered in steel froze for a second.


    He had no idea what the little boy had done but wasn¡¯t this far too excessive? Suddenly, the old man with grey hair shouted form his cell, ¡°Hey Block Head, kill those guards! We are taking that little boy with us!¡±


    Hearing that, the man in steel woke up from his stupefaction, he saw that the guards had already loaded in Energy Bullets. Seeing this, the man¡¯s face changed as he jumped to side yelling, ¡°Shit, Energy Rounds!¡± Just before the two shot at him, he managed to dodge to the cover of the wall.


    He let out a breath of relief and then looked towards the other side of the hallway, where a girl that was approximately 20 years old was cautiously walking towards the cell with the open door. She was wearing a tight combat suit that brought our her curves quite nicely. Her hair was green and extended to her waist. Her emerald green eyes were quite cold as she stopped next to the prison cell the young boy was in.


    She nodded towards the man covered by steel and seeing this nod, the steel man held up six fingers indicating that there are six guards there in total. Then he showed two fingers and made the motion of holding a gun. It was a sign that two were currently aiming here. The green haired woman nodded again seriously and then stood up.


    She took a deep breath and suddenly jumped. As she jumped, a gust of wind seemed to push her from the side and she quickly flew across the doorway to the other side.


    When she moved across the doorway, a Siu* Siu* Siu* Siu* was heard and a few seconds after that, there were four thumping sounds made by four bodies hitting the floor. As the four bodies dropped to the floor, the steel man rushed inside the cell and quickly took care of the two guards left. After all of the guards were taken care of, the woman with green hair moved in front of the bulky old man¡¯s cell and took a deep breath. As if spitting something out of her mouth, the cell door exploded.


    The old man scratched at the back of his head and said, ¡°Sheesh, would it kill you to wait for me to step back a bit before you blow up the door Sandra?¡± The young woman rolled her eyes and said, ¡°Tinkerer, you should know very well that we do not have much time, so it was obvious that I would get you out as fast as possible. But are you certain?¡± As she asked the final question, she gestured towards the young boy¡¯s cell with her eyes.


    The old man also turned serious as he said in a low voice, ¡°Yes, I will explain it later. Our first priority is getting out of here.¡± As he said so, he quickly went towards the young man¡¯s cell. Since their cells were so far apart, he had no idea how he was imprisoned.


    So, when he arrived at the cell door and saw the young boy chained, his mouth opened wide as he asked in disbelief, ¡°Did you massacre their whole platoon to get this kind of treatment or what?¡± The young boy looked at the old man and said, ¡°Why do you want to take me with you?¡± The old man put on a bitter smile and said, ¡°Well, currently getting you out is very hard¡­. Your chains are all made from Adatantium, so no ESP ability will be able to break them. Getting them off would require us to pick all of the locks but we do not have the time for that.¡±


    Hearing this the young man just looked at the old man in the eyes and asked again in a cold tone, ¡°Why do you want to take me with you?¡± When the old man saw those cold eyes, his heart turned sour as he thought to himself, ¡°What do you need to go through to transform a small child like that?¡±


    The old man turned serious and said, ¡°Since you seem so suspicious of us, let¡¯s make a deal.¡± Hearing this, the other two¡¯s faces changed as well. They did not know anything about the young boy but the old man had heard him say that he had escaped from the Garden of Eden, so he could not be someone simple. The young boy¡¯s eyes flashed again as he asked in a low tone, ¡°What deal?¡± The old man smiled and said, ¡°We will get you out of here and in return you will work for us, how about it?¡± Hearing this, the young boy was surprised as he asked, ¡°And who are you?¡±


    The old man puffed out his chest with pride and said, ¡°I am George Oil, the Head Mechanic of the Roaming Phantom Pirates fleet. And you would be working for our Roaming Phantom Pirates fleet, so you would not have to fear the Kriegrich Empire¡¯s fleets chasing after you any more, since every authority in the Galaxy will be chasing after you.¡±


    Hearing this, the young boy was surprised as he asked, ¡°Are you not afraid that you will bring on the wrath of the Kriegrich Empire onto your Pirate Group if you recruit someone like me?¡± The steel man and the woman named Sandra both looked at the young boy oddly after that. It was a well known fact that their Pirate Group was like fire and water with Kriegrich Empire. The old man laughed loudly and said, ¡°No need to worry about that. The Kriegrich Empire already considers us as mortal enemies, adding you into our ranks would only be beneficial for us while creating a bigger headache for them. So, do we have a deal?¡±


    The young boy thought about the old man¡¯s proposal but then remembered that they do not have enough time to undo the chains on his body. Just as he was about to say something, a communicator at the waist of Sandra let out a, urgent voice, ¡°Sandra, Krieg! How long are you going to take? We have already exceeded the mission time and the reinforcements from the Enemy Fleet will arrive in 15 minutes. If we do not leave in the next 10 minutes, we are all going to die.¡± Just as Sandra was about to take the communicator, George took the communicator and said, ¡°Give us 5 more minutes. I promise you, the wait will be worth it.¡±


    As he said so, he turned the communicator off. He looked at the young man still chained to the wall and asked, ¡°So, what is your answer? Since we have a time limit, I can¡¯t let you think long.¡± The young boy said, ¡°Okay, you have a deal.¡±


    Hearing this, the old man was very happy as he started moving towards the panel that controlled the cell. The young man just yelled at him, ¡°There is no time for you to hack into the system and release these chains. Only Commander Grade and up people have the permission required to undo these chains!¡± Hearing this, the old man froze and Krieg and Sandra looked at him in disbelief. Commanders were the people that were at the top of the food chain in a fleet. Above them would only be the Generals and the Emperor, so to try and hack into the system and try to remove the chains would be nigh impossible in the time frame they had.


    ¡°Do you have any other suggestions?¡± George said to him as he started walking towards the panel again. The young boy turned to Krieg, the giant steel man, and said, ¡°Take the guards guns and shoot at the fourth link from my body, that is these chains weak spot. Although this won¡¯t help me get these chains off immediately, at least we can get out of here.¡± Hearing this, George turned around and asked suspiciously, ¡°Are you certain that this will work?¡± The young man nodded and said, ¡°One hundred per cent sure. You need to use the Physical Rounds and aim at the fourth link from my body.¡± Hearing this, the old man decided to follow the little boy¡¯s suggestion.


    At the moment, this was the best they got any ways. After he picked up the gun, he carefully aimed at the welding spot of the fourth link and just as he shot at it, the link broke. Seeing that his was working, he eagerly shot the chains holding his legs and then finally, the one holding the arm. As the final chain got broken, the young boy fell to the ground.


    Seeing his weak state, George put him on his back and started following Krieg and Sandra towards the rendezvous spot. He looked like a small koala baby that was on his mother¡¯s back. George¡¯s broad back was big enough for the little boy to use it as a shield.


    All of the soldiers they saw during their escape were all killed off by the combination of Krieg¡¯s shield like frame and Sandras air bullets that she shot out. After 5 minutes of running around in this maze like battlecruiser, they finally made it to their rendezvous spot. When the pirates, that were holding the fort saw the three of them come, relief was painted on their face. However, they soon looked at them in confusion when they saw the little boy being piggybacked by George.


    After a moment of confusion, they sobered up and continued with their cover fire as they did not have the time to be dazed and confused. They all started going back through the bridge that was linking their two ships and Krieg, Sandra, George and the young boy would be left last. Just as they were halfway over the bridge, a wall of ice suddenly blocked them off. Seeing this, they faces fell as Krieg tried to body smash it to bits but was rebounded off the wall.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    All three of them looked back with ugly faces. They saw a young man wearing officer¡¯s clothes walking in. His hair was black and short. His blue eyes gave of a feeling like you were stuck in a blizzard. His build was slender over all and in his right hand was a military sabre. He looked at the three coldly and said, ¡°I don¡¯t mind if you escape George.¡±


    George cleared his throat and just as he was about to say something, the young man released an ice cold aura as he continued, ¡°But he is not going anywhere.¡± As he said so, he pointed his sword at the young boy on George¡¯s back. George¡¯s face fell even further and turned quite grotesque but the two at his side were even more confused about the little boy. Seeing his imprisonment method, they felt as though he was some kind of a mass murder but it seemed like George knew something about him and his importances to the Kriegrich Empire was quite big.


    Hearing this, the young boy climbed down from George¡¯s back and stood in front of the three. He smiled as he whispered in a low voice, ¡°Back up until the wall and leave a hole between me and the wall. Also, be ready to bolt on my command.¡± Hearing this, Sandra raised her brows and asked, ¡°What are you-¡±


    The young boy cut her short with a gesture of his hand and whispered, ¡°Trust me, I do not want to go back to that hell, so there is no way I am staying.¡± Just as she was about to rebuke him again, George put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head, indicating to do as the little boy said.


    Seeing them back against the wall like that, the young man asked in a cold voice, ¡°What are you planning Engineer?¡± The little boy just smiled at him and said, ¡°I have no interest in going back to the Academy, so bye bye Frost.¡± As soon as his words ended, he turned around and smashed towards the wall of ice with his chains.


    Seeing that, Frost¡¯s face was coloured in surprise but soon grew alarmed as he realised what the little boy was going to do. The moment the chains came in contact with the ice wall, the wall burst into little snowflakes. Seeing this, the little boy yelled, ¡°Run!¡± Without skipping a beat, all of them started running towards the pirate ship. Seeing all of them run, the young man shouted, ¡°Stop right there!¡±


    As he said so, he swept the sabre horizontally to the ground and four icicles flew towards George and company. Seeing the icicles flying towards them, Krieg¡¯s, Sandra¡¯s and George¡¯s faces fell, they had no confidence what so ever in being able to take them head on. Just as they grit their teeth to take them head on, the little boy who was running at the back of the group, suddenly jumped up and swept the chains towards the icicles and as each of the chains accurately hit the icicles, they immediately evaporated.


    After landing, the little boy started running like the wind again. The bridge was originally 500 meters long, 5 meters wide and 3 meters high but currently, it seemed like it was 500 kilometers long to the four. There was only 150 meters until the pirate ship and in the short distance of 350 meters, they had nearly died twice already. The chains still bound at the little boy¡¯s hands were only 1 meter long.


    Each chain was enormous and it was very heavy. To see the little boy actually being able to run and do such acrobatic movements with these chains made all of the pirates dumbfounded as one of them asked subconsciously, ¡°Is that little guy a monster in human form?¡± Although no one openly agreed with him, no one rebuked him either.


    When there was only 50 meters left until their goal, the young man called Frost dashed behind them and had caught up to them. All he needed to do was stretch out his hand and he would be able to catch the little boy. Seeing this, the pirate¡¯s face changed as they all aimed their guns at him. Just as Frost caught the little boy by the collar of his shirt, the young boy borrowed the jerking force and did a backflip as the chains tied to both his feet came swinging towards Frost in a whip like manner.


    Seeing the incoming chains, Frost let go of the little boy¡¯s collar and adapted a defensive pose. However, before the chains could hit him, he felt two little feet press on the guarding arm and push off. It was only then that he realised that the hit with the chains was a feint and the little boy was actually using him as a spring board to dash forward. The three had already reached the door and had turned around just in time to see the little boy get caught.


    However, their faces were painted in astonishment when they saw him fight Frost head on like that and even outsmart him. After the little boy had done a roll on the ground, he immediately continued sprinting towards the door. There were only 20 meters to go and the distance between him and Frost was 40 meters. Seeing him get away, Frost roared, ¡°You will not escape Engineer!¡±


    As he said so, he extended his left hand and a chain made of ice shot out from his palm. Just as the little boy crossed the doorway to the pirate ship, a chain of ice wrapped around his neck. Seeing this, George immediately smashed the button next to the door, so it would close. The door¡¯s couldn¡¯t fully close because of the ice chain but the little boy had recovered from the sudden loss of balance and hit the ice chain with the chains made of Adatantium.


    As the chain made of ice evaporated into thin air in a split second, the doors closed and the bridge was detached as the ship immediately flew away. Since the Pirates ship was smaller, it¡¯s flying speed and maneuverability was many times higher than a massive warships. Before the warship could even turn around, the little pirate ship had already entered Hyper Space and flown away.


    On board the ship, the pirates at the door, felt as though a heavy rock has been lifted from their hearts. This kind of a risky attack on their flag ship was close to suicide to be honest, them being able to emerge with their lives intact was already something they were immensely happy for. Finally, Krieg could not take it and yelled at the little boy, ¡°Are you some kind of a monster wearing human skin?¡±


    Everyone¡¯s eyes turned toward the little boy that was down on the ground panting. The little boy looked up and locked eyes with Krieg. He then said in a cold tone, ¡°Anyone who has survived in the Academy as long as me can do at least that much.¡± Hearing this, everyone fell silent. George just gave a cough and asked, ¡°You said before that you ¡°escaped from the Garden of Eden¡±. Why did you need to escape from it for?¡± Hearing the name ¡°Garden of Eden¡±, every pirate pointed their gun at the little boy.


    The tension was sky high and if even a pin dropped nearby, it could startle someone into shooting. The little boy looked at George in astonishment as he asked him, ¡°What kind of a place do you think the Academy is?¡± Hearing this, everyone faltered. Not much was known about the Academy, only thing that was known was that only especially selected people were able to enrol in it and the people that graduated got the position of a Captain of a ship at the very least.


    In the eyes of everyone, that place was a holy ground that produced one genius after another. George also faltered but immediately answered, ¡°It is a place where geniuses convene and when they graduate, they will be guaranteed a spot as the Captain of a ship. They are the elite of the elites of the Kriegrich Empire.¡± Hearing this, the young boy just laughed loudly.


    He then stood up and said in a mocking tone, ¡°That place is a living Hell. Every year, over a hundred 5 year olds are forced to enrol in that Hell hole and 10 years later only two or at maximum three people will be able to graduate. Do you know how?¡±


    Hearing this, every single one of them were startled as their arms started to falter. The young boy walked directly in front of George and looked at him in the eyes as he said, ¡°Each person that manages to graduate is someone that has climbed over a mountain of corpses. The number of people that survive the first year is half of the people that enrolled. The only way to graduate is to either survive for 10 years or to graduate early, you need to be that last person standing.¡± Hearing this, everyone¡¯s guns started lowering because they were far too shocked about this.


    Because what happened in the Garden of Eden was a complete mystery, it sparked a lot of theories on how they were taught but none of the theories came even close to the truth it seems. George also looked at the young man stupefied but before he could say anything, the little boy said, ¡°So, that place is not as glamorous as you all think. To people that actually go there, it is a living Hell. You can trust no one because at the end, maximum of three people will be allowed to survive. So, if in your year are over a hundred people, tell me, who doesn¡¯t want to survive?¡±


    This made everyone deeply think about their actions just now. Also, this kind of an environment would explain why every person that graduated the Academy was so strong, cunning and indifferent to human life. One of the surrounding people asked, ¡°Why do you not make a non killing pact amongst yourselves?¡± The little boy looked at the man who said that and answered, ¡°I said, only three people would be allowed to survive at the maximum. They are the three people that have the highest kill count, if by the end of ten years, there are more than three people surviving, the three with the highest kill count will be spared, the rest will be killed.¡±


    After hearing the explanation, everyone gulped again. In their minds however, they were screaming, ¡°What kind of a bullshit environment is that?! Only three people are allowed to survive? Is this some kind of a joke?¡± George calmed down his fast beating heart and asked, ¡°So, the reason that the flagship of an entire fleet was separated like that was because of you?¡±


    The little boy just spread his arms out like he was giving a hug to someone and said, ¡°Yes, I, Jack Lumi, am the first person in the history of the Academy to successfully escape from it before the Graduation. Well, five years before Graduation to be exact.¡±


    Hearing this, everyone¡¯s faces changed. Hearing about the true face of the ¡°Prestigious Academy¡± was something that made their backs be covered in sweat. All of them had been through bloody battles and had killed more than once. However, none of them had been as young as him when they first killed. They had already been adults by the time but Jack, the little boy in front of them, had been only 5 years old at the time. Suddenly, Jack swayed as he gave a bitter smile, ¡°Well, seems like it is time for me to go to sleep, thank you for your help.¡±


    As he said so, his eyes lost focus as he toppled over. Seeing him fall to the floor, everyone started scrambling towards him to catch him. However, the one who caught him was the silent maiden with long green hair who said, ¡°I will take care of him.¡± Hearing this, everyone backed off and George looked at her with a suspicious glance as he asked, ¡°Sandra, you wouldn¡¯t happen to know something about the Academy, would you now?¡±


    Hearing this, everyone¡¯s faces were painted in confusion. Sandra looked towards George coldly and said, ¡°I do know and I can also tell you that everything he said was the truth. That place is a dog eats dog world.¡± Hearing this, everyone looked at Sandra weirdly. Not much was known about her other than that she was extremely strong and that she was an extremely cold person. She was picked up by the Captain but no one knew anything about her origins.


    She never spoke about it either and every time someone asked her about it, she would either leave, give the cold shoulder or change the subject. George¡¯s face flickered as he asked seriously, ¡°Are you someone who graduated from the Academy?¡± This question tensed everyone up. Too many things had happened one after another. First of all, they had to raid a flagship by themselves with this small ship, which was akin to suicide, then they ran into Frost and then there was also Jack, and now it turned out that Sandra was also a person that had graduated from the Academy.


    Finally, one of the people that had been in the surroundings, clapped with his two hands and said, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s stop now. This is too many things happening one after another. Lets all just calm down and go rest now that we are all out of danger, also we need to make a full report of expenditures and damages. Those that are injured will head to the infirmary. Lets go, lets go.¡± Everyone looked towards the slender middle aged man that said that and just started heading towards either towards their positions, quarters or the infirmary. The slender man was wearing a pink tank top, purple vest on top of it and long white, skinny pants. Also, his nails were painted light blue and his expression was quite queerish. He looked at Jack and then turned his sight towards Sandra, ¡°What are we going to do with him? His injuries look quite bad but we don¡¯t have enough room inside the infirmary either.¡±


    George looked towards the queerish man in surprise and asked, ¡°So many injured?¡± The queerish man just nodded his head and said seriously, ¡°Commander Frost himself injured a lot of our guys and if others hadn¡¯t intervened fast enough, we would be having dead bodies instead of patients. All the beds are full, the entire floor is full and the hallway is also full. We have no place to put him.¡± As the man slowly and helplessly shook his head, George also shook his head. It was then that Sandra said, ¡°I will take him to my room. I am probably the only one he would not be so wary of after he finds out that I am also from the Academy.¡±


    Hearing this George was surprised and asked suspiciously, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better to put him in my room? He seems to trust me.¡± Sandra let out a rare smile as she said, ¡°Do you honestly think that he trusts you? At best, he is wary of you but that doesn¡¯t mean that he trust you. It just means that he doesn¡¯t expect you to kill him when he turns his back.¡±


    Hearing this, the two were puzzled and Sandra shook her head, ¡°It is extremely hard to explain what you went through in the Academy, no one is able to do so. All I can say is that you have a better chance of becoming sworn brothers with the Kriegrich Emperor than have someone from the Academy trust you.¡± Hearing this, the two of them looked at her with a complicated face.


    The queerish man said, ¡°Okay, take him to your own room. I will send a doctor to your room to take a look at him.¡± Sandra nodded to him and said, ¡°Thank you Captain.¡±


    The queerish man just shooed her away with his hand and seeing this, Sandra smiled as she took Jack into her arms and carried him to her room.

 Chapter 2: Treatment

    Just as Sandra was about to leave, the queerish man said, ¡°Wait, you should probably have those chains removed first.¡± As he pointed towards Jack, Sandra nodded. She then changed direction and headed towards the mechanics area. They had a lot of tools so it wouldn¡¯t be hard to find something to remove the chains with. When Sandra had left with, George looked at the queerish man, who was called Captain, with a suspicious glance and said, ¡°There is a lot you need to explain to the Boss.¡±


    The Captain just let out a wry smile and nodded. He then gestured George to follow him to his quarters so he can give the complete story to George and the Boss. Sandra however, soon reached the mechanics area and found someone who used a cutter to carefully cut the cuffs. Since Jack was currently so exhausted that he was in deep sleep, it was extremely easy to do.


    When the chains were taken off, Sandra thanked the mechanic and gave Jack a piggy back ride to her own private quarters. When she arrived back at her quarters, she laid Jack down on the bed and just carefully looked at his face.


    The room wasn¡¯t big, only about 20 square meters big and most of the room was occupied by various different flowers and plants. The bed was two and a half meters long and one and half meter¡¯s wide, easily allowing two people to sleep side by side. The bed was right under the window so you only needed to adjust your gaze a bit to be able to gaze out of the window and into the vast starry sky.


    Besides the plants and a bed, there was one bookshelf filled to the brim with different books on plants and a small table with a chair. If you entered the room, right after entering there would be a closet for clothes at your right hand and next to the closet was a door leading to the bathroom. Every private quarters on the ship had a closet, bathroom, bed, table and a bookshelf, as for the rest, it was up to the person itself.


    If they wanted to grow plants like Sandra, they could, if they wanted to collect books or mechanical parts, they could. As she saw that Jack was completely out cold, she locked the door and fished out a pair of knee length fitting leather pants and a short sleeved shirt from the closet. She then unzipped her body tight battle suit and changed her clothes. Just as she was done changing her clothes, she heard a knock on the door.


    She unlocked the door and a friendly young woman in a lab coat greeted her at the door. She had long braided hair that were brown. On her slightly round face were many freckles and her chestnut brown eyes also looked kind. Her size of her chest made even women stare.


    She just smiled and asked, ¡°Is the patient here?¡± Seeing the familiar face, Sandra¡¯s cold gaze also softened as she let her in and pointed towards the bed. She then said softly, ¡°He is the patient.¡± Seeing Jack, the Doctor looked at Sandra with a sly look and said teasingly, ¡°So this is your preference.¡± Sandra tilted her head in confusion but then the Doctor just continued teasing, ¡°No wonder no real man was allowed to even look inside the room. So you prefer them young.¡±


    Now Sandra understood the meaning behind her words and quickly rebutted, ¡°Ellen! It is not like that! I-i..¡± Being unable to explain it, Ellen just patted her on the head and said, ¡°I understand, he is from the same place as you. You know that he could be very dangerous if he woke up somewhere else.¡±


    Hearing this, Sandra cast her head down and said in a low tone, ¡°He looks like my little brother. Even though I know that Jack is not him, Jack still looks exactly like him.¡± Hearing this, Ellen hurriedly said in a gentle voice, ¡°Forget I teased you, I did not want to tear up old wounds.¡± A flash of regret and gentleness was evident in her eyes. She then changed the mood and said, ¡°Now then, let¡¯s look over the patient and heal him.¡±


    After saying so, she took Sandra¡¯s hand and pulled her closer to the bed that was at the other side of the room. Seeing the bloody Jack, Ellen frowned as she asked Sandra, ¡°Do you want to undress him or should I?¡± Hearing the question, Sandra¡¯s face reddened as she quickly asked, ¡°Why do we need to undress him?!¡±


    Ellen just sighed and said, ¡°There are a lot of wounds on him and most of them are under his clothes or rather what is left of them, so we need to undress him to patch up the wounds.¡± Hearing this, Sandra calmed down and nodded towards Ellen. Then, she told Ellen, she could do it herself and she would just wait nearby.


    Hearing this, Ellen nonchalantly took off Jack shirt and pants. Well, there wasn¡¯t much of a difference in him wearing clothes or not because the clothes were nearly shredded any ways. Seeing the body covered in blood, Ellen towards Sandra and said, ¡°You go and try to find another set of clothes for him, I reckon it won¡¯t be easy to find fitting clothes for him.¡±


    Sandra nodded and just as she was about to go and look for clothes, she saw Ellen pick up Jack. Sandra asked hurriedly, ¡°What are you doing?¡± Ellen looked at her in confusion and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be giving him a bath of course. His body is covered in blood and dirt, I need to clean his body before I can treat his wounds.¡±


    Hearing this, Sandra nodded and reluctantly left to find clothes for Jack. After Ellen carried Jack to the bathroom, she filled the bathtub with warm water that was not too hot or cold and carefully washed the dirt, dried blood and nearly dried blood off of him. The cleaner Jack became, the more Ellen¡¯s eyes furrowed as she evaluated the various wounds and scars on his body.


    A thought passed through her head, ¡°What kind of a sadistic psychopath held him to get his many scars and such wounds?¡± Jacks body was riddled in scars, one deeper and more painful looking than the other.


    Most of the wounds that were still healing had festered from the lack of immediate medical care. When she had finally completely washed his body, she gently dried him and carried him back to the bed. Just as he was laid down on the bed, Sandra came back. She looked a bit down cast and Ellen asked her, ¡°No luck?¡±


    Sandra just helplessly shook her head and said, ¡°No, we don¡¯t even have anything close to his size.¡± It was just like Ellen had thought, so she hadn¡¯t held her breath with the matter. This ship consisted of people that were at least twenty years old, so to find clothes that fit a ten years old, that was quite impossible. Sandra just sighed and said, ¡°Well, Krieg promised to look through our loot and see that maybe something that will fit him is in there. We robbed that big cargo ship a few days ago, so there might be some clothes in there.¡± Hearing this Ellen sighed as well, but then she tried to change subject by asking Sandra what happened to him.


    Sandra explained in detail about how he was imprisoned and hearing the extensive imprisonment method, Ellen¡¯s face couldn¡¯t help but change. At the time Ellen was talking to Sandra, she kept cleaning Jack¡¯s wounds and bandaging them one after another. When all of his wounds were bandaged, she crossed her palms on Jack¡¯s chest and closed her eyes. After a few moments, green glow manifested on her two hands that seemed to pour into Jack.


    After focusing for a 5 minutes, the glow on her hands slowly dissipated and when all of it was gone, she said with a sigh, ¡°This is the best I can do for him.¡± Just as Sandra was about to say something, a knock sounded on the door again.


    Sandra opened the door and the Captain and George were there. She gestured them to enter the room and then locked the door. George looked at the bandaged Jack and deeply frowned. The Captain turned to Ellen and asked, ¡°What is his situation?¡± Ellen just let out a deep sigh and said, ¡°The situation is quite bad. Although I have cleaned him and treated his wounds, my ability [Regeneration] stimulates people¡¯s own vitality to heal wounds quicker. He is severely malnourished and currently extremely weak, so his recovery won¡¯t be easy or quick.¡±


    Hearing this the Captain and George nodded. George then asked, ¡°When will he wake up?¡± Ellen shrugged her shoulder¡¯s helplessly and said, ¡°At best in a few days. It is a miracle that he had been conscious as long as he had been. He should have collapsed from the lack of strength a few days ago but he kept himself going with pure will.¡±


    She then looked at Jack with a gaze of pity and continued, ¡°He over drafted his body and the moment he relaxed after arriving on the Ship, he fell into an unconscious state. I heard what he did on the landing bridge and honestly, I can say that it took him the last bit of strength he had left.¡±


    She just shook her head helplessly and turned towards Sandra, ¡°He hasn¡¯t probably had a decent meal in months, coupled with the various wounds on his body, the recovery is going to be along one.¡± Seeing this situation, the Captain and George looked at the two girls in confusion. Sandra then said, ¡°I will look over him until he recovers.¡± The two men were even more confused and the Captain asked, ¡°Did something happen?¡±


    This was the first time that the Captain saw Sandra care about someone else this much, so he found the scene to be quite peculiar. However, neither of the girls clarified for the two so they could only remain in a confused state about the matter. The Captain looked at Jack again and then said, ¡°Okay, Sandra, you will be the one in charge of him for now. Does anyone know what his ability is?¡± Hearing this, everyone started thinking about it. Jack had not said what his ability was and also from the tight lock down he was under, it was obvious that it was not something trivial.


    George said uncertainly, ¡°Frost called him ¡°Engineer¡±, so I guess it has something to do with mechanics.¡± All Sandra could do was nod to that, she did not have any better guesses either. After chatting a bit, Ellen said, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s give the patient some peace and quiet now.¡±


    As she said so, she started showing the two loud mouthed men out of the door. After they had exited the room, Krieg turned around the corner and waited for the three to leave. Seeing Krieg standing there, Sandra asked him, ¡°Did you find anything?¡± Krieg nodded and gave Sandra a set of black clothes.


    Currently, Krieg did not look like a man made of steel but rather like a big muscular soldier. His face was quite rigid, and he wore camo pants with a black tank top. His black hair was cut in a crew cut, his skin had a tanned bronze hue. Mixed in with his black hair were streaks of grey. Sandra accepted the clothes and invited Krieg in.


    Since everyone else had left, there were only the three of them left in the room, if you counted in Jack. Krieg looked at Jack and said, ¡°I did not attend the Academy but from what you have told me before, that place is not nice. Seeing the various scars on his body, I can tell that he has been through more life and death situations than most on this ship.¡±


    Hearing him, Sandra only nodded. Krieg patted Sandra on the head and said, ¡°I have said it before, that if you need someone to talk to, my wife Ellen will be more than happy to listen to you. If need be, I can listen as well.¡± His low voice carried a hint of softness and Sandra only nodded her head to Kriegs words.


    On this ship, there had previously been three people that knew of her past: the Captain, Krieg and his wife, the Head Doctor, Ellen. They all treated Sandra with care and as if she was their own child. Well, the Captain was like the weird uncle in that case. Sandra said in a sorrowful tone, ¡°Nothing is wrong, thank you.¡±


    Seeing this, Krieg did not push it either. He gave Jack one last glance and then left the room. When everyone had finally left, Sandra locked the door again and took off the covers on Jack again and dressed him in the clothes Krieg had brought. The clothes were quite comfortable and they actually fit Jack.


    When he was finally dressed, Sandra looked at him again. Jack was now dressed in a black T-shirt and black long trousers that weren¡¯t tight. After all of it was done, she gently pushed Jack nearer to the wall and laid down next to him. It didn¡¯t take long for Sandra to fall asleep as well.


    In the blink of an eye, three days had passed already and the ship had reached their headquarters already. Most of the personal had disembarked and gone to do their own things. Some went home to their families, some went drinking, some went to visit the brothels. During the three days, the ships atmosphere had returned to normal and most people treated Sandra with more warmth than before. Not a single one of them was a pirate because of the heck of it, they all had their own stories and reasons, Sandra¡¯s was just one of the countless amongst them.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    On the ship, there weren¡¯t many people left. Only a few mechanics working on the ship, the Captain who actually lived on the ship and a few others that did not have anything to do outside. Krieg and Ellen were also left on the ship and currently, the three of them, Krieg, Ellen and the Captain, were in Sandra¡¯s room. Every day, Ellen would check up on Jack three times and at the moment, it was the routine check up. However just as they were about to leave, Jack¡¯s eyelids trembled.


    Seeing this, all of them stopped and turned to look at Jack. Jack slowly opened his eyes and took a moment to look around. After taking a few moment to confirm his surroundings, his gaze fell onto the four that were about to leave. Seeing him wake up, Ellen asked with a smile, ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Not recognising anyone besides Sandra, Jack stayed vigilant towards all of them. He answered with caution, ¡°A lot better.¡±


    Seeing the vigilance, Sandra said, ¡°You are currently on the Little Ghost. You have been out for three days.¡± Hearing this, Jack was surprised but before he could say anything, Sandra introduced them all. She pointed towards the Captain and said, ¡°He is John, the Captain of the ship.¡± John immediately extended his hand towards Jack and said with a smile, ¡°Pleasure to make your acquaintance.¡± Jack cautiously shook his hand and then Sandra pointed towards Ellen and said, ¡°She is our Head Doctor Ellen, she was also the one who treated your wounds.¡±


    Hearing this, Jack extended his hand towards Ellen as well but Ellen instead just hugged him tightly, burying his head between her massive breasts. Being alarmed like this, a crude metal knife appeared in his hand and he instinctively stabbed it towards her throat from the back. Seeing this, Krieg immediately caught his hand and pulled Ellen away. Everyone in the room was alarmed and Sandra quickly stepped between the Jack that was gasping for breath and the serious Krieg. The Captain just looked at Ellen and said with a sigh, ¡°You should have known better than to suddenly hug him like that. It is just like with Sandra all over again.¡±


    rieg looked at Jack in the eyes and tightly gripped his little wrist. Seeing this, Sandra said, ¡°Lets calm down now.¡± However, Krieg locked eyes with Jack and tightened his grip on his little hand. Feeling the pressure from the grip, Jack dropped the knife and only then did Krieg let go of his hand and his gaze also softened. He understood very well that it was Ellen¡¯s fault for suddenly hugging him like that.


    Ellen looked a bit sheepish as she scratched at the back of her head saying, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I did not want to frighten you but you just looked so cute and adorable, so I couldn¡¯t help myself.¡± Jack¡¯s gaze also softened a bit and he lowered his head towards Ellen, ¡°I am sorry as well, I did that out of reflex.¡± After both of them had apologized to each other, the atmosphere lightened a bit and Sandra cleared her throat, ¡°This is Krieg, the giant steel man that was with me when we rescued you.¡± Hearing this, Jack looked at Krieg in confusion and seeing the confused gaze, Krieg just let out a hearty laugh as he said, ¡°Well, can¡¯t blame you for not recognizing me.¡±


    He then put his hand on the wall and starting from the palm of his palm, steel quickly covered his entire arm. He then turned towards Jack and said, ¡°My ability [Absorption] allows me to absorb the properties of any material I touch and for example, if I absorb steel, I become like a steel man. It is classified as a SS Rank Ability¡± Hearing this, Jack nodded in understanding and lowered his head again, ¡°I thank you for saving me back then.¡± Krieg just scratched the back of his head and said, ¡°Well, I should thank you as well for saving us when Frost showed up.¡±


    Jack shook his hand as well and then turned towards Sandra. Sandra then said, ¡°We met before as well but let me introduce myself properly this time. My name is Sandra and my ability is called [Wind¡¯s Blessing].¡± As she said so, she extended her left hand and on her palm a little transparent tornado appeared. She then continued, ¡°I can control the Wind and as a thanks to that, I can make my body float or shoot out compressed bits of air that are like armour piercing bullets. The ability [Wind¡¯s Blessing] is an A Rank ability¡± She then smiled and a said to Jack, ¡°Now then, we have all been introduced, how about you?¡±


    Jack, who was sitting up on the bed, slowly edged to the side of the bed and tried to stand up, however, since he was currently too weak, he still didn¡¯t have the strength to do so. Ellen just made him sit down again and told him that it would be okay to sit while introducing himself. Jack then took a deep breath and said, ¡°Well, My name is Jack Lumi and as you know, I escaped from the Garden of Eden.¡± Everyone present nodded and Jack continued, ¡°I am actually a Double Ability ESP-er. From my dad I inherited the ability [Metal Manipulation] and from my mother I inherited the ability, [Eyes of Destruction and Creation]¡±


    As he explained his abilities, everyone showed an astonished look. Double Ability ESP-ers were not unheard of but they were still quite rare. Only one in a thousand of ESP-ers would be a Double Ability ESP-er, however, most of the people had abilities that either conflicted or did not complement each other. John asked with a thoughtful face, ¡°I understand the [Metal Manipulation] ability, I have met others with this ability before but I have never heard of [Eyes of Destruction and Creation].¡± Everyone else looked at Jack with a confused face as well.


    Jack took a breath and closed his left eye. Everyone were curiously watching him as he blinked his right eye three times and a light blue glow appeared on his right eye. He then said, ¡°This is the [Eye of Creation], it allows me to improve everything. For example, if you put a blueprint of a ship in front of me and I looked at it with the [Eye of Creation], I would be able to use all my knowledge and immediately find all the places that could be improved.¡± He then blinked his eye three times again deactivating the ability and continued, ¡°If you put a broken piece of machinery in front of me, I would be able to fix it.¡±


    The Captain just looked at Jack in astonishment and said, ¡°Well, that is very useful.¡± Jack then just shook his head, ¡°It is useful only as long as I have read a lot of books on machinery or seen a lot of blueprints for ships and weapons. The whole ability works like a computer, by having a large database of knowledge it would give me the most optimal solution with the least amount of time by combining all the useful parts of the knowledge possessed.¡±


    Krieg was also thoughtful and asked, ¡°So the more books on machinery and different types of technology you read, the more formidable that ability would become?¡± Jack nodded his head and added, ¡°So, unless I am allowed to read a mountain load of books on different ships, weapons, shields or engines, this ability is quite useless.¡± Everyone understood the basic principle behind the ability.


    It was similar to the ability [Great Tactician] that allowed a person to memorize a tactic with only a glance. These kinds of strategists were very sought after by every military because if you allowed them to cram every known military formation and strategy inside them, they would only need a glance at the enemy line up and formation to formulate a counter plan to it. However, the prerequisite for this was that the person had sufficient knowledge.


    Sandra then asked curiously, ¡°What about the [Eye of Destruction]?¡± Jack then closed his right eye and blinked his left eye three times in succession. When he opened his eye again, it was covered in a red glow. He then said, ¡°This is the [Eye of Destruction], it allows me to see the weak point of everything. This is not only limited to technology but also extends to someone¡¯s attacks or defensive stances. For technology, it still has the prerequisite that I have to have the knowledge of how it works but for attacks and stances, it does not have this kind of requirement. Thanks to the good synergy between the [Eyes of Destruction and Creation] and [Metal Manipulation] I was ranked as a SSS Rank ESP-er and enrolled at Garden of Eden.¡±


    The Captain sucked in a deep breath as he said, ¡°Well, those abilities truly do complement each other very well.¡± Jack nodded his head as well. Although it was a short chat, Jack was exhausted. He was still quite weak and seeing Jack with the sleepy face, Ellen said, ¡°Okay, you should eat some nutrients and then head back to sleep. It will take you a while to recover so don¡¯t push yourself too much and allow your strength to return to you.¡± As she said that, she looked towards Krieg and said, ¡°You carry him to the mess hall, we will all have a good meal.¡± Seeing her so serious, everyone¡¯s mood lightened up as well.


    Although Jack was still very wary of all of them, he slightly lowered his guard. These three were actually the only people that Sandra had ever showed her smile to as well. She came to the ship four years ago but the only ones she opened up to, even by a tiny bit, were these three. Krieg and Ellen tried to care for her like they would for their own daughter and for them, she was like that. The Captain was that weird uncle that showed up at Christmas and brought gifts to everyone despite being completely broke.


    The general atmosphere they gave off was that of a gentle family. Jack couldn¡¯t remember the last time he felt like this and slightly grew accustomed to this gentle atmosphere. While they were moving to the mess hall to get something to eat, they gave Jack a tour of the ship as well. Ellen, had actually run off in advance with Sandra to prepare the food. Since there were very few people left on the ship, they didn¡¯t run into that many of them during their tour. However, the ones that they did meet, they introduced them to Jack and Jack introduced himself to them as well.


    All of the people on the ship were friendly towards Jack as well and after having three days to digest everything Jack had said to them, they all eased up towards him and actually felt sorry for him. They could not imagine the environment that he had grown up in so everyone on the ship took it as a duty to make his stay with them as good as possible. On their way to the mess hall, Jack suddenly said, ¡°The atmosphere here is very friendly. Everyone seems like one big happy family.¡±


    Hearing this, the Captain laughed and answered, ¡°Well, everyone on the ship is here because of a reason and none of them are ones that were happy. Everyone on the ship treats each other like family because they can somewhat relate to each other. Well, your case is a bit special¡­.¡± As he said so, Jack nodded in understanding. Also, since the hallways were quite high, Jack was now sitting on Krieg¡¯s shoulders instead of having a piggyback ride. Soon, they reached a big hall that had over a dozen long tables.


    Currently, no one else was eating so Krieg and John took Jack to sit at the table closest to the kitchen. John explained to him, ¡°Since most people are currently on leave, there is no point in having the cooking staff stay behind as well. Everyone that is left can either cook for themselves or just go out to eat and then come back.¡± Suddenly, Ellen poked her head out from the kitchen and said, ¡°We will be done in a second, so be prepared for a feast.¡±


    Hearing this, both John and Krieg seemed very eager. Seeing their excitement, Jack asked in confusion, ¡°Is it rare for Ellen to cook?¡± Krieg nodded his head seriously as he said, ¡°Her food tastes absolutely delicious but she doesn¡¯t cook that often. Only on rare occasions, so it is your lucky day.¡± John also nodded and said, ¡°After you taste her cooking, even the most luxurious gourmet dishes will taste like stale bread in comparison.¡± Hearing this, Jack also eagerly waited for the food. He had not had a decent meal for years as in Garden of Eden, they usually dropped a fixed amount of dry rations in a designated spot and left it up to themselves to see who got how much. About ten minutes passed and the table was covered in various dishes.


    There were boiled potatoes with sauce and different kinds of salads, there were also a few types of different meat. Jack couldn¡¯t honestly remember when he had last seen this much food, not to mention the food was warm and not some dry military rations. Seeing the almost salivating Jack, Ellen immediately filled his plate with a big portion of food and after everyone had taken a plate full of food, they all expected Jack to eat first.


    Jack was cautious and it hadn¡¯t been the first time, he had eaten poisoned food, so he was quite reluctant to eat it. Ellen immediately guessed it and smiled, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be afraid of poison. If we wanted to kill you, we could have done so during the three days you were unconscious.¡± Hearing Ellen¡¯s statement, Jack just smiled wryly. None of the people present actually blamed him for being cautious because they had heard some bits and pieces about the Academy from Sandra. Actually, it was a bit of a deja vu for them all. Sandra had been just like Jack when she first arrived. She had graduated only a few months prior to deserting here position and being picked up by John.


    After taking a deep breath, Jack finally took a bite. After that he just started ravenously devouring everything in front of him. Seeing him eat so heartily, everyone just let out a laugh and also started eating. It didn¡¯t take even 15 minutes for the table to be completely cleared of food. After everything had been eaten, Jack just sat there and said, ¡°That was delicious.¡±


    Krieg, who was sitting to the right of him just patted him on the back and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t it like I said? Even top class gourmet food can¡¯t compare to Ellen¡¯s cooking.¡± Jack eagerly nodded to Krieg¡¯s statement, agreeing whole heartedly. Ellen however blushed and said, ¡°Maybe I should cook more often then.¡± Jack eagerly nodded to that and even John and Krieg did so as well. Suddenly, Jack felt tiredness come over him as he jawned.


    Seeing this, Sandra asked Jack, ¡°Do you want to go back to sleep?¡± Jack nodded his head sleepily as the answer. His body had not recovered enough for him to be able to be up for too long. His body had also obtained a lot of nutrients and he needed time to digest them. Sandra nodded her head and stood up to walk next to Jack. She then said, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s return to the room then and you can have a long nap.¡± Jack took her hand and followed her to the room.


    After the two had left, Krieg looked at John seriously and said, ¡°That little guy dropped his guard quite a bit compared to the first time I met him. Although he is still wary, it doesn¡¯t show that much any more.¡±John also nodded as he added, ¡°He is good at adapting to the environment. Also, is it just me or has Sandra developed some kind of a connection with him already?¡± IT was then that Ellen came back from washing the dishes from the kitchen. She heard John¡¯s sentence and she said, ¡°Sandra told me that he remind her of her little brother. She knows that Jack isn¡¯t him but she said that he looks exactly like him.¡±


    Hearing this, both John and Krieg nodded in understanding. As they were discussing this, George and a robust old man who seemed to be about 60 years old walked in.

 Chapter 3: Attempted Escape

    When John saw the old man that was next to George, he immediately stood up and said, ¡°Greetings Boss.¡± Ellen and Krieg also hurriedly welcomed the old man. The old man just smiled with his wrinkly face and gestured them to sit down. The old man had a buff body but still, he could not escape the constraints of time. His head was grey and his his skin was covered in wrinkles as well. He wore simple long pants and a T-shirt.


    He sat down as well and then asked John, ¡°George said you picked up a boy of ten years old?¡± Hearing the question John nodded and said, ¡°Yes, more accurately, George told Krieg and Sandra to bring him back. He just woke up and had a meal. Currently, Sandra is bringing him back to her private quarters for him to sleep.¡± The old man nodded and said, ¡°I know he left. We arrived when you were still eating but chose to come now.¡± As the old man said that, the three of them were confused.


    Suddenly, he turned his head towards Ellen and asked, ¡°You were the one that washed him and dressed his wounds?¡± Ellen nodded in response to the old man¡¯s question. The old man¡¯s eyes flickered as he asked, ¡°Did he have a snowflake like birthmark on his lower back?¡± Ellen was taken a back by the question and tried to remember it. She thought about it for a second and then said, ¡°Yes, on his lower back, at the left hand¡¯s side, there was a snowflake like birthmark. How did you know Boss?¡± The old man¡¯s eyes seemed to have been lit up as he took a look around.


    Seeing no one in the surroundings, he said seriously, ¡°What I say next will not leave this room. Only the people present will know about this and no one else.¡± As he said so, even George was taken a back. When he reported to the Boss about Jack, he had suddenly wanted to come here. However, when he saw Jack in the mess hall, he had told George to wait until he left. After everyone promised not to leak the conversation out, the old man started with a gentle gaze, ¡°You see...¡±


    Jack and Sandra had no idea of the old man or George visiting and had reached back at the Sandra¡¯s private quarters. Jack looked at the room sleepily and asked, ¡°Where will I sleep?¡± Sandra pointed towards the bed and said, ¡°You will sleep on the bed with me.¡± Jack was a bit too young to understand the matters between boys and girls so he just sleepily nodded and climbed to the far side of the bed. When he cosily hid under the blankets, he quickly fell asleep.


    Seeing him fall asleep so quickly, Sandra just let out a little laugh. She then watched out of the window and was greeted by a setting sun. Since they were currently in their base, the ship was obviously docked in the shipyard. After giving one last glance at Jack, Sandra decided to water her plants. This was one of the few things that she liked doing. After having watered and cared for all of her plants, she wasn¡¯t feeling sleepy yet, so she left the room to find Krieg and Ellen to have a chat. When the door closed, Jack opened his eyes.


    He waited for a few moments and when he did not hear any movement or breathing what so ever, he turned around and peeked at the room cautiously. Seeing that he was alone, he slowly sat up on the bed. Silently, he left the bed and put his ear towards the door. After not hearing any movement behind the door, he sneakily left the room.


    All of the sleepiness seemed like it had never existed. His eyes were cold as he quietly made his way through the hallways. When Krieg and John had shown him around before, he had remembered the layout of the ship and where the exit was. He made his way towards the door that led to the outside without raising any alarms or running into anyone.


    However, when he reached the door, he saw that it was locked. He did not have the password to leave, so he had to resort to muscling his way through. After making sure that no one was around, he put his two hands on the door and closed his eyes. Suddenly, a box appeared on the door. The box was as big as Jack and with a slight push, it was pushed out. As soon as the cube exited the door, the alarm started working. Hearing this, Jack hurriedly exited the door and made his way out for the door leading outside.


    In the mess hall, everyone except the old man had an expression of shock but just as George wanted to ask something, the alarm started screaming. Hearing this, John quickly took the communicator and asked, ¡°Bridge, what happened?¡± From the other side of the communicator a voice that seemed to not know whether to laugh or cry came, ¡°Umm, the little boy broke through the door and ran away.¡± Hearing this, everyone¡¯s face fell. The old man stood up and asked flustered, ¡°How is that possible? Wasn¡¯t Sandra supposed to look after him?!¡±


    Just as he yelled that out, a meek answer came from the door, ¡°He fell asleep immediately after arriving back at the room. I waited a bit to make sure that he wasn¡¯t faking it and then came here.¡± Hearing this, the old man grabbed his hair with his two hands and yelled, ¡°Like Father like son. Damnit, every single one of them is a headache!¡± As he said that, he immediately ran out the door. Seeing this, John was stupefied for a second and hurriedly said to the communicator, ¡°Open the cargo bay doors, we will use the Speeders to go look for him.¡±


    After saying so, he immediately dashed towards the exit and quickly yelled to the old man, ¡°Boss, lets use Speeders! They are in the cargo room!¡± The old man had just turned around the corner when he heard Johns yell. He immediately turned around and followed John to the cargo room. Sandra looked at them in a daze but woke up when Ellen took her hand and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go quickly. I can still sense the aura of [Regeneration] inside him but if he leaves the range of it, I will be unable to sense him.¡±


    Sandra hurriedly nodded to Ellen and followed after her to the cargo room. Only a minute or two after that, five Speeders flew out from the cargo bay and followed the directions given by Ellen. As the five Speeders flew through the air, Jack was dashing through the back alleys. As much as he had seen of the town, it was enormous, so he thought that if he avoided the main streets and travelled through side alleys, he would be able to avoid the detection of John and the rest. Just in case, he quickly blinked his left eye three times and a red glow appeared in it.


    After making many twists and turns, he slouched in the shadows of a few garbage cans. He was panting heavily because his body was still quite weak. As he caught his breath, pain flashed on his face as he looked at his stomach with a grimacing face. Some of the wounds, that had recently closed up, had reopened. Stopping the bleeding by pressing on it with his hand, he murmured to himself, ¡°Although some of the wounds have opened again, it won¡¯t impact my mobility in the short run. In the long run, however, it is bad.¡±


    After the blood had clotted again, he slowly stood up again and looked towards the distant ship. A complicated emotion flashed in his eyes as he said, ¡°Although I am grateful for everything you did for me, I still can¡¯t stay there.¡± Just as he said that to himself, a mocking question came from above him, ¡°And for what reason would you have to sneak out like that? At least wait until you wounds heal dumbass.¡± Jack quickly looked up and saw five Speeders hovering in the sky. The Speeder¡¯s looked like motorbikes but instead of wheels, they let out wind.


    This allowed them to hover and the engine that was under the drivers seat allowed it to fly forward. Actually, the inertia from the engine was something that allowed it to change it¡¯s altitude. When the engine wasn¡¯t pushing it forward, the two engines, that let out wind from below, stabilized the Speeder so that it would not immediately plummet to the ground.


    Seeing the people seated on the Speeder¡¯s, Jack¡¯s face turned cold as he asked, ¡°How did you find me?¡± Ellen poked he head out from behind Krieg and gave a peace sign as she said, ¡°I can locate you using the aura from my ability [Regeneration], so there is no place you can run from us.¡± Just as Ellen finished her explanation, the old man called Boss, immediately pointed his index finger towards Jack and yelled, ¡°You stinking brat! Be a good boy and don¡¯t cause any more trouble for us.¡± This was the first time Jack saw the old man.


    He sized the old man up with a gaze and then said coldly, ¡°Who do you think you are to order me around like that?¡± Hearing the cold response, the old man choked back for a second. He had never seen a ten year old possess such cold eyes. It left him inwardly quite shaken but that soon passed as rage built up inside him, ¡°You snot nosed brat, you dare to put on airs in front of me?¡± Jack just snorted to the old man¡¯s words but his eyes were darting around the surroundings.


    His face turned grimmer as he thought to himself, ¡°Shit, there is no place to run to. With the Speeder¡¯s they will be able to catch up to me in the blink of an eye.¡± Suddenly, his eyes came to a stop on a manhole cover that led to the sewers. A smile formed on his face as he looked at the old man and said, ¡°I truly am not interested in that, so bye bye old timer.¡±


    Hearing this sentence, George, Krieg and Sandra felt that it was quite familiar. When they remembered that he said it the exact same way when they were cornered by Frost, their faces changed. Sandra yelled, ¡°Don¡¯t do anything stup-¡±


    *BOOM*


    Before she could finish her sentence, the manhole cover that was under Jack¡¯s feet blew up into small pieces and he himself fell through the hole. When the explosion echoed out, sharp bits of the metal cover flew at the five Speeder¡¯s. Luckily for them, they weren¡¯t injured and the Speeder¡¯s were also fine. However, seeing the escape method Jack thought of, George sighed, ¡°Why does it seem like he is used to being cornered like this and making grand escapes like that?¡± Krieg and Sandra could only blankly nod to George¡¯s statement.


    However, the old man just jumped off his Speeder and went towards the manhole. However, his face was painted red with rage as he cursed loudly, ¡°That little snot nosed brat is just like that unfilial son of mine. I knew I should have had all the manhole covers be replaced with either stone or wooden ones when the little bastard used that same trick against me.¡± After saying so immediately jumped down the manhole in pursuit of Jack.


    George looked at the manhole with a helpless face, ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go after him.¡± Krieg, Sandra, Ellen and John nodded to George¡¯s order and just as they were about to disembark their Speeder¡¯s, they heard a droning sound. They looked up and saw an old lady on a one person hover platform. The old lady was wearing a brown long skirt and a white knit sweater. Her hair was grey and tied to bun behind her head, her blue eyes however showed a trace of helplessness.


    She looked at the manhole and sighed, ¡°You don¡¯t need to follow him. I will do it myself or that block head will truly kill him when he catches him.¡± George immediately lowered his head as he said, ¡°Madame, you noticed our disturbance?¡± The old woman just looked at George and smiled, ¡°Don¡¯t forget, there are very few things that escape my eyes in this city.¡± George slightly bowed to the old lady and said, ¡°We will leave it up to you then Madame.¡±


    The old lady nodded her head and the hover platform started floating towards the man hole. The platform wasn¡¯t big, it only fit one person and if they had no sense of balance, it was easy to fall down. Just as she was about to enter the manhole, she turned around towards Sandra and said, ¡°You can also tell her what he told you.¡±


    George hurriedly widened his eyes and said, ¡°But Boss-¡± The Madame just raised her hand and said, ¡°She has as much right to know about it than the rest. Also, I order you to tell her.¡± After saying so, she didn¡¯t even look at the face of George or listen to any more rebuttals. She directly entered the manhole in pursuit of the robust old man. Sandra just looked at everyone present and asked, ¡°What is going on?¡±


    John and George looked at each other and then both of them sighed. George just said, ¡°It is a long story. For now, let¡¯s return to the ship.¡± Sandra looked at the manhole suspiciously and asked, ¡°Are they going to be alright with just the two of them?¡± John let out a hollow laugh and said, ¡°Well, if those two can¡¯t catch him, there is probably no one who can.¡± Krieg and George nodded to John¡¯s statement. With that, they flew back towards the ship.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    In the sewers, Jack was in a bind. He hadn¡¯t expected them to catch up this fast, so he was forced to run in blind. He had no sense of direction what so ever in these sewers and the wounds that had just clotted had opened up again. The more he ran, the faster his blood started pumping and the faster he started bleeding dry. After about a 15 minute run, his body felt ice cold and it lost strength fast. Jack grit his teeth and cursed, ¡°Damn, hypovolemic shock. I¡¯ve lost too much blood.¡±


    As he mumbled that, he tripped over his feet and fell down. He laid there for a minute, panting. His body felt incredibly cold and he could feel his consciousness fading fast. As his eyes lost focus, he started remembering all the times he narrowly escaped death. With the last bit of strength he managed to prop himself up in a sitting position against the wall.


    He no longer had any more strength to move. His eyes lost focus even more as he said in a self mocking tone, ¡°I survived the betrayal of dozens, the pursuit of one of the strongest Military Empires in the Galaxy but I failed to run from an old man that thinks too highly of himself.¡± He then just let out a little laugh as he raised his head and looked at the dim lamps over the sewer canals.


    He gazed at one of the flickering lamps and thought to himself, ¡°Well, of all the scenarios of death I thought of, there wasn¡¯t one that involved me bleeding to death in a sewer.¡± He then chuckled at himself and mumbled, ¡°Well, Little Kitty, seems like I won¡¯t be able to keep our promise. I will be waiting for you on the other side.¡±


    After saying that, he lost the last bit of strength he had and he fell unconscious. Just at that moment, two people turned around the corner and one of them tripped over Jack from his hurry. As he fell down, he put one hand in front of him and he stopped before face planting to the ground. He hurriedly turned to the side and yelled, ¡°Pick a better place to sleep you bum. I¡¯m in-¡±


    Halfway through is cursing, he got a better look at the person he tripped over. The old man¡¯s face fell as he quickly went and felt Jack¡¯s pulse. When he felt the very weak pulse, he started losing his calm and in his flustered state, he had no idea what to do. The old woman on the hover platform jumped down with a serious expression and ordered, ¡°Stop his bleeding, he has already lost too much blood!¡± After saying so, the old man nodded and hurriedly took off Jack¡¯s shirt and ripped it to shreds.


    He made multiple makeshift compresses that he put on the wounds and bound them tightly to stop the bleeding. As the old man was working on Jack, the old woman took out a communicator and requested people to come here. They did not dare to move Jack in fear of opening other wounds as well. It did not take long for people to start filling the sewers and soon a middle aged man with green hair came over. With one glance, his eyes furrowed as he hurriedly asked, ¡°What the hell happened?¡± The old man just barked at him, ¡°Fix him!¡±


    Hearing this, the middle aged man was startled. He looked at the old woman and the old woman also nodded her head grimly and said, ¡°You heard the Boss.¡± Many of them had never seen the Boss as serious and angry as this. Usually, he would never bark orders at someone so this made everyone wonder, just who Jack was. The middle aged man nodded seriously and a green glow appeared in his eyes and on his hands as he took a set of acupuncture needles from his bag. He then told the old man seriously, ¡°Step back and don¡¯t disturb me.¡±


    The old man immediately stepped back and let the middle aged man do his thing. The middle aged man glanced at Jack¡¯s body and was shocked by the scars and wounds. He was an expert in the field of medicine and medical practice, so with a glance, he could see that these scars dated back to 5 years. One or two scars would not be something new, everyone had them but the sheer number of scars Jack had astonished him. He thought to himself, ¡°Just who is this boy?¡±


    The middle aged man¡¯s hands flashed as several acupuncture needles entered Jack¡¯s body, stopping the bleeding. He quickly took a bag of blood from his bag and inserted the needle into Jack¡¯s slim arm to start a blood transfusion. After all of this had been done, he quickly wrapped him in a warm blanket to warm his body up and not let the body temperature fall any lower. He felt Jack¡¯s pulse and after a few minutes, a bit of colour started returning on Jack¡¯s face.


    Seeing this, the old man and the old woman let out a deep breath of relief as the old man hurriedly asked, ¡°Is he safe now?¡± The middle aged man with green hair looked at the old man seriously and said, ¡°He lost too much blood, besides that, there are obvious signs of malnutrition. If it were any normal person, I would say they are safe now but regarding him, he isn¡¯t in the clear yet.¡± Hearing this, the old man panicked again and just as he was about to ask something, the old woman smacked him at the back of his head and said coldly, ¡°Look at you, the Boss of the Phantom Ghost Pirate Group, acting like a teen schoolgirl that just got asked out by her idol. Go farther away and calm down already, you panicking is not going to help anyone.¡±


    The old man sobered up thanks to the Madame¡¯s scolding and just nodded his head as he went farther away and fished out a cigarette that he immediately lit up. Seeing that the old man had calmed down, the old woman asked in a helpless tone, ¡°What needs to be done now?¡± The middle aged man looked the old woman in the eyes and said, ¡°First of all, we need to bring him out of here and into a clean environment before his wounds fester again. Then he needs to be under a twenty four hour surveillance just in case something unexpected happens.¡±


    He then glanced at Jack before asking the old woman, ¡°Just who is he? The wounds he has are made from military grade rifles and the scars he has date back to five years. It¡¯s like he had lived on a survival island.¡± The middle aged man actually had another question as well but he only asked it mentally, ¡°What is his relation to the Boss to make him as flustered and panicky as that?¡±


    The old woman thought for a moment and then said, ¡°If I tell you that his name is Jack Lumi, will you understand?¡± The young man fell into thought and then suddenly his face was filled with shock as he asked, ¡°Lumi? His name is Jack Lumi?!¡± The old woman seriously nodded her head and the man with green hair looked at Jack in shock. His mind seemed to be filled with scenes brought back by realization. He then slowly lowered his head and murmured, ¡°I wonder what Big Bro is doing? For this little guy to end up like this?¡±


    The Madame heard these words but she kept her silence. She also looked at Jack with an inquiring gaze as she thought, ¡°Just what happened? There is no way Freddy and Samantha would allow something like this happen to their son. Did something happen to them?¡± As her thoughts trailed off, a few people with medical clothes arrived. The middle aged man sternly gave them detailed orders and he accompanied Jack to the hospital with the medical staff.


    Seeing the middle aged man leave with Jack, the old man said suddenly, ¡°Put Adatantium cuffs on him and restrain him to a bed.¡± All the medical staff were startled and they looked at the old man in confusion.


    The green haired Doctor wanted to ask something but before he could, the old man clarified, ¡°He ended up like that because he didn¡¯t wait for his wounds to heal before he ran away. If you don¡¯t restrain him, there is no saying he won¡¯t run away again and that time, we may not be able to find him in time.¡± Hearing the serious tone of the old man, everyone present gulped. The green haired man nodded seriously and said grimly, ¡°I give you my word, he will not be able to take one step out from the bed until his wounds heal.¡±


    The old man nodded his head and then looked towards the Madame with a helpless gaze. They both knew there was next to nothing they could do at the moment. So, they left Jack in the green haired man¡¯s care and left themselves.


    When Jack fell unconscious from blood loss, he started reliving his memories. Just as he had closed his eyes, he opened them again and he was standing inside a huge grey hall. All around him were children at the same age as him and they were all wearing knee length white pants and a white T-shirt. In front of the platoons of children was a stage on which stood twelve men in military uniform. They all had cold faces and behind them stood a row of armed soldiers, ready to fire at a moments notice.


    A man with greying hair stepped forward and said coldly, ¡°You will all now be transported to the Facility. There you will each be given a knife and basic necessities. Every week, one crate filled with food will be delivered but who gets how much, it will be up to you to figure out.¡± The man swept his gaze over everyone present and then continued, ¡°Remember, you have ten years and after that, only three people will be allowed to survive. Who those three people are, that will also be left up to you to decide.¡± After saying so, all the children were put on helicopters and delivered to a deserted island.


    The island wasn¡¯t big but it was big enough to accommodate one hundred kids with a lot of room to spare. Since they were small, they did not understand the true meaning behind the man¡¯s words back then but soon reality showed it¡¯s true face to them. On the island was no wild life, in the surrounding waters there were no fish either. All the plant¡¯s that bore fruit were poisonous so they were inedible. Their only food source was the crate of food delivered to them once a month.


    However, the food crate did not hold enough food to feed one hundred growing kids, even if they rationed it very strictly, so soon hierarchies formed and those that were of no use or were weaker fell by the blades of others. Jack had formed a party with one other person. She was the same age as him and had chestnut brown hair and brown pupils. Her hair was always tied to pony tails and Jack himself had helped her tie them like that.


    In the Facility, they were known as the Double Calamity because they were the ultimate tag team. The girl¡¯s name was Hedi and her ability was [Black Panther Transformation]. All abilities that could change the body fundamentally like this were all categorized as S rank and since her transformation had a very high synchronisation rate that allowed her to even take the form of a Black Panther, she was categorized as a SS Rank ESP-er.


    She took care of the melee while Jack would think of their plans and offer long range support. Since they were the two strongest on the island, they had no problem getting the food either by the nice way or the bloody way. Also, since Jack had read various books when he was still very little, all the technology was deeply imprinted in his mind. One of these pieces of technology was one of his mother¡¯s inventions, One Man Teleporter.


    However, when he saw the blueprint for it, it was still unfinished so he had to finish it through trial and error. After working on it for three and half years, he managed to create two prototypes that worked. However, it had one major flaw. If you wanted to travel to a specific location, you needed to have another Teleporter there or you needed to have the Gravitational Coordinates for the location. Since they had neither, they could only leave it up to luck.


    They had no telling where they ended up, so they made a promise. If they survived, they would meet at the main square of Aldurin Republic. Jack had no idea where it was but Hedi had read about it in a book before they were put on the island and she had always wanted to go there. The time limit was 5 years.


    They made a promise to meet on the square in five years time. Under the clock tower when the clock struck midnight, Jack would have to wear cat ears and a black suit and Hedi would have to wear a red ballroom gown. Jack had no say in the clothing chosen, it was all done by Hedi and she wouldn¡¯t budge an inch in that department.


    Just as Jack started to teleport away, Hedi seemed to say something but Jack could not hear it. Just as he wanted to read her lips, he suddenly opened his eyes. He was greeted by the beeping of a machine that monitored his heart beat. The first thing he saw was the white ceiling and as he tried to sit up, he discovered that he couldn¡¯t move. He slowly raised his head and saw that his hands were bound by Adatantium cuffs while his legs were strapped to the bed with leather bindings. His upper body was also strapped to his bed.


    Seeing this, Jack¡¯s eyes turned cold as he glanced around. Because of the Adatantium cuffs, he could not use his [Eye of Destruction]. The amount of movement he could do was actually minimal. He then swept his gaze over the rest of the room and saw that he was currently in the only bed in the room. Besides the bed, there were various medical machines that observed either pulse or blood flow. The only window that allowed him to look outside was currently pitch black, indicating that it was currently the middle of the night.


    In the corner of the room, right next to the door, was a chair upon which was a sleeping old man. Jack recognized the old man to be the one that was with George and the rest on their Speeders. As if sensing that Jack woke up, the old man slowly opened his eyes and looked at Jack. Jack looked at the old man coldly and asked, ¡°What do you want from me?¡±


    Hearing Jack¡¯s voice the old man completely woke up from his drowsiness and jumped up. His face instantly flushed red as he started cursing, ¡°You little son of a bitch, do you realize how much danger you were in? For what reason god damn reason would you try to run away with those wounds?¡±


    The old man then went up to Jack¡¯s face and yelled, ¡°Do you know how worried I was when I found you? You had nearly bled to death and if I had found you only a few minutes later, you would have been dead!¡± Jack was taken a back by the barrage but he still maintained his cold facade and asked in a cold voice, ¡°Better die on my own terms than live according to others. I don¡¯t know what you want from me but I¡¯d rather die than become your little puppet.¡±


    Hearing the cold words and seeing the cold eyes Jack possessed, the old man was startled. The old man then seemed like he was about to completely explode but at that moment, he suddenly calmed down and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want you to do anything for me, I am just glad that you are alive.¡±


    Seeing the gentleness in the old man¡¯s eyes, Jack asked, ¡°Why do you care whether I live or die? There are millions of other orphans out there.¡±


    The old man had a pained expression as he just patted Jack on the head and said, ¡°But none of those millions of orphans is my grandson.¡±

 Chapter 4: Relations

    After hearing that sentence, Jack looked at the old man in shock for a second but then, his eyes turned cold as he said with a ridiculing smile, ¡°Do you honestly expect me to believe you?¡± Hearing this, the warm smile on the old man¡¯s face froze. He had not expected Jack to scream Grandpa and try to cling to him but he hadn¡¯t expected such a response either.


    The old man shook his head to get over the shock a bit and tried to say something but Jack¡¯s cold words brought him back to reality. ¡°I may be ten years old but my mental state is not nearly as gullible as a ten year old.¡± The old man put on a bitter smile as he remembered what George had told him about Jack¡¯s past. They did not know much but what they knew, left them all feeling pity for Jack.


    The old man then just let out a sigh as he asked, ¡°What do I need to do make you believe me?¡± The old man was earnest in this regard and seeing this Jack raised a brow. Although he felt that what the old man had said was true, he just couldn¡¯t accept this kind of a twist of fate. It was just something that was too good to be true. Jack then raised his head a bit again and said, ¡°Well, first of all, you could get these restraints off of me. I am not asking you to undo my cuffs but these leather restraints.¡± The old man then glanced at Jack¡¯s restraints and nodded his head and undid the leather restraints.


    Then he helped Jack sit up normally on the bed and said, ¡°There are a lot of ways to prove the blood relation between us, so would you like the whole process to be done under your own eyes?¡± This was the only thing the old man thought of that could possibly make Jack believe him. Although Jack wasn¡¯t his only grandchild, he was the grandchild he was the most concerned about. Jack¡¯s father Freddy was actually supposed to inherit the Phantom Ghost Pirate Group from him but when Jack was born, he had wanted him to grow up in a normal environment so he gave up the Leader¡¯s position and decided to settle down on a backwater place on an industrial planet of Kriegrich Military Empire.


    Although the old man did not like this idea, he had no control over Freddy¡¯s choices, he was a grown man for god¡¯s sake. Everything was good until five years ago, when all contact with Jack¡¯s parents went silent. Nothing was heard from them and when they visited their home, it was also empty. From their neighbours they had heard that some military officials had come and taken them all away. Afterwards, Phantom Ghost Group entered a state of war with Kriegrich Military Empire. However, everyone from the Pirate Group were well aware of Freddy¡¯s strength and none of them thought that Freddy had been imprisoned or killed by them.


    They thought that he had taken Jack and Samantha, his wife, and gone deep underground and would surface soon enough. However, five years had passed now and there was still no news from them. That was until Jack showed up out of the blue with a body full of scars and a demeanour colder than a glacier. Only a few people knew that Freddy took the family name Lumi when he settle down so when Jack had shown up, George did not know that but when he reported taking in Jack to the Boss, the old man had been able to connect the dots.


    Jack Lumi, ten years old, from the Kriegrich Empire, was taken from his family 5 years ago, the same time they lost all communication with Freddy and Samantha. However, he had confirmed that Jack truly was Freddy¡¯s child when they did a DNA test when Jack was still unconscious. Until then, it had all been purely speculations and suspicions, however, after the DNA test confirmed it, the old man was certain that something major must have happened. For Jack to end up like that, it meant that either Freddy and Samantha were in a maximum regime prison or they had been killed. Hearing that the old man¡¯s suggestion of the whole process being done under his eyes, Jack nodded his head.


    He then said, ¡°If you truly are my Grandfather, then I have a few things to say to you.¡± Hearing this, the old man raised his brow and asked, ¡°What do you have to say?¡± Jack just smiled and said, ¡°That will have to wait after you prove to me that you truly are my Grandfather.¡± The old man just sighed and rolled in a wheelchair from outside the room. He put Jack in the wheelchair and said, ¡°So let¡¯s go and get this over with.¡± Jack was startled and asked, ¡°But it is currently in the middle of the night, can it be done at the moment?¡±


    The old man pushed the wheelchair out and said with a laugh, ¡°My Phantom Ghost Group is the most influential power on this planet. We are practically the Emperors of this planet and if I asked someone to do the tests at this very moment, a lot of people would trip over themselves to do it immediately.¡± Hearing this Jack was startled. His knowledge of the world was actually very little. Before going to the Island, he had been too young to understand it and when he had escaped, he had tried to familiarize himself with the outside world but he was soon tracked down, so all his efforts went to escaping.


    When they exited the hospital room Jack was in, he was greeted by 20 people armed to the teeth with with rifles, grenades and pistols. They all possessed serious and cold faces indicating that if someone who was not supposed to be in this hallway entered it, that person would be pumped full of lead. Seeing the old man, they all just saluted him and said, ¡°Pirate Boss.¡± The old man smiled and then said, ¡°You guys can all go home, there is not need for you to stand guard here you know.¡± Hearing this, the guards faces did not even change as one of them said, ¡°How could we? If something were to happen...¡± The guard didn¡¯t finish his sentence but looked at Jack with a tender gaze.


    The old man just shook his head and said, ¡°Okay, you can stay guard here. I will bring Jack to verify our blood relation through the DNA test.¡± After saying that, he gently pushed the wheelchair towards the elevator. Jack looked at the guards with a hint of surprise and suspicion as ten people stayed behind to guard the room and ten people formed a perimeter around them as if they were escorts. Jack however felt as though they were there to make sure he did not escape. He didn¡¯t feel under protection but rather under custody.


    After they entered the elevator, they exited on the second floor and the old man brought them to a Doctors office that had a middle aged man with green hair looking at some X-Ray films. Seeing Jack enter, he looked at him with a gentle gaze and said, ¡°You are awake. How are you feeling?¡± Jack did not answer the green haired man but rather looked at the old man. The old man told the green haired man, ¡°Jack wants to see the whole process of the DNA test to see that we truly are related and he truly is my grandson.¡± The green haired man slowly nodded his head as he thought that this was the case.


    He had heard about Jack¡¯s past and he personally felt that it would be extremely suspicious if he actually believed that they were related without any proof. That was also the reason he did not go home that night, he felt that Jack would awaken sometime during the night and something like this would happen. The green haired man said, ¡°Okay, I will take a bit of blood form the both of you and then we will go through the whole process in front of your eyes.¡± Hearing this Jack nodded his head and the green haired man rolled up his sleeve and inserted a needle in his vein.


    Since Jack¡¯s clothes had been soaked in blood and torn to shreds by the old man when he stumbled upon him, Jack was currently wearing white hospital garments. The green haired man quickly took a vial of blood from both of them and put the two vials in the machine. Although Jack had a lot of knowledge regarding machines, medical apparatus¡¯s were something that he knew next to nothing about.


    Under Jack¡¯s and the old man¡¯s eyes, the machine worked on full power and soon two strips of DNA appeared on the computer screen and overlapped with each other. Soon, some parts of the overlapped DNA strips lit up and a box appeared on the screen. It read, ¡°Test complete. DNA resemblance 25%.¡± Seeing this result, the old man and green haired man looked at Jack.


    Seeing the slight confusion on his face, the green haired man explained, ¡°25% resemblance indicates that there is a generation gap between the two of you. Usually in a test with parent-child blood, the resemblance is 50% and between a grand child and a grandparent, it is 25%. So, do you accept the results? If not, I can take any random person a compare their DNA with yours or with Boss¡¯s as well.¡±


    Jack just closed his eyes as he accepted the results. The whole process had been done under his eyes and the green haired man had even offered to run the tests with other people as well to prove that they had not tampered with the machines or results. Jack just shook his head and said, ¡°No need. I honestly do not believe that you would go through this much trouble just to fool a little child like me.¡± Hearing this, the green haired man¡¯s and the old man¡¯s face¡¯s flickered. Although they had not tampered with the machines or results, they had not expected Jack to accept the results this easily. The green haired man squatted down in front of Jack and asked, ¡°Now then, we have proved that we do not mean you nay harm. So will you tell me if you feel better now or is there still some place that hurts or feels weird?¡±


    Jack just shook his head and said, ¡°No, I am fine. Although it is a bit painful to move my upper body, it is not something that disturbs me.¡± Seeing the frank answer of Jack, the green haired man felt pain in his heart. He knew better than anyone how painful those kinds of wounds would be. Although the puncturing wounds were done by rifles, the holes were small and in places that wouldn¡¯t hurt much but the slash wounds on his back and stomach were something that should hurt like hell despite the many pain killers inside him. However, as long as he himself said it was fine, he could not do anything about it.


    He then gently patted Jack¡¯s head and said with a smile, ¡°If you feel any discomfort, then let your Uncle know. I will do the best I can to help you out.¡± Jack tilted his head and looked at the old man. The old man just stated casually, ¡°This green haired man is my second born son, Alex Uni. He is your Father¡¯s brother aka. your Uncle.¡± Hearing this, Jack showed an understanding face and then nodded to Alex. Alex then turned towards the old man and whispered something in his ears. From the grim expression of the old man, Jack could tell that it wasn¡¯t something pleasant. The old man then said, ¡°Okay, keep monitoring it. If it gets any worse, act immediately.¡±


    Without clarifying anything, he directly pushed Jack out and back to his hospital room. The guards that had been standing outside the examination room, escorted them in a tight formation. These guards made Jack feel uncomfortable and the old man could see it clearly. When they entered Jack¡¯s hospital room again, the old man lifted Jack from the wheelchair and put him on the bed. He did not want Jack to make any movements by himself and because of the pain killers, his coordination is also affected.


    The old man brought the chair he had been sitting on before in front of Jack and said, ¡°Do not worry about those guards. They are not here to keep you here at all costs but rather, if you decide to run away again, they would follow you and be your shield and spear.¡± Jack then tilted his head and asked, ¡°But why? I know none of them and I presume none of them knows me either.¡± The old man let out a hollow laugh as he said, ¡°They are all from the ship ¡°Poltergeist¡±, the previous Captain of that ship was Freddy, your Father.¡± Hearing this, Jack thought of a possibility but before he could ask, the old man explained, ¡°Freddy had certain charisma, that no one else possesses. He became the Captain of ¡°Poltergeist¡± at the age of 15 and he was the Captain for a bit over 10 years. Every single person on the ¡°Poltergeist¡± has blind trust in Freddy.¡±


    He then took a breath as he shook his head, ¡°When he first wanted to leave, the whole crew wanted to follow him but he refused them. He pointed another person as the Captain and left. However, after the loss of contact with Freddy and Samantha, ¡°Poltergeist¡± is the ship that has been looking for them practically day and night.¡± He then looked at Jack seriously and said, ¡°When you popped out, they all rushed back at the fastest speed possible and when they learned of your situation, they set up a perimeter around the entire hospital. This room is especially well guarded, this is all because of their loyalty to your Father and since there have been no news about him for the past ten years, every single one of them knows that he is either in a maximum regime prison or he is dead.¡±Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    He took a deep breath and continued, ¡°The entire crew of Poltergeist was put together by Freddy himself. I do not know the story behind them but as with all other people, he probably pulled them out of the gutters and treated them as humans. They feel indebted to him but they can not repay that debt any more. So, they will give their best to keep you safe from now on. They will probably listen to no one else than you.¡± Jack was stupefied. He looked at the old man in the eyes and asked, ¡°What makes a person as loyal as that?¡±


    The old man also shook his head as he said, ¡°I do not know but their loyalty to Freddy is extreme. I presume that the moment you heal enough to move around normally, they will ask you to take the position of the Captain.¡± Hearing this, Jack furrowed his brows and asked, ¡°They would not do that right? To ask a ten year old to become a captain of an entire ship, isn¡¯t that a bit too extreme?¡±


    The old man let out a hollow laugh as he said, ¡°It is not only a ship but rather an entire mercenary company.¡± Jack tilted his head and asked, ¡°Huh?¡± The old man cast his head down and said, ¡°Well, you see Phantom Ghost is divided into 4 different factions. The Merchants, Mercenaries, Government and Pirates.¡± He then closed his eyes for a second and collected his thoughts. He then continued, ¡°Merchants have a huge network of connections that bring in work for Mercenaries, the resources needed by the Government or sell the loot obtained by Pirates. I am the Boss of the Pirate Faction but Freddy used to be the Boss of the Mercenary Faction. He made it that far all by himself so he earned the respect of the whole Mercenary Faction.¡± Jack thought about it but he felt something was very weird. Although his knowledge on all these matters weren¡¯t profound, he had basic knowledge between the ruling regimes and such.


    Actually, the old man was feeling extremely awkward talking about such intricate and complex things with a ten year old. Jack then asked in confusion, ¡°If I stay here, am I obliged to join the Pirate Faction or Mercenary Faction?¡± The old man shook his head and said, ¡°No, you can do whatever you want. If you want, you can join the Merchants Faction or Government Faction. If you want to just spend your days travelling, you don¡¯t have to join any faction at all.¡± Hearing this, Jack was relieved. In all honesty, he had had enough of bloodshed and fighting. What he wanted the most was to hole up in a place where he could work on machinery and did not have to fear the Kriegrich Empire chasing him down and trying to bring him back or kill him.


    The old man then stood up and said, ¡°You do not need to worry about all of that for now. You just heal your body and rest your mind. I will undo the cuffs because I have said everything that needed to be said and done everything I could do. If you still wish to disappear, there is no reason for me to lock you in a cage.¡± The old man¡¯s tone held a bit of sadness but he was helpless. If Jack wanted to leave, he could do nothing about it and if he kept him in custody like that, it would just make him feel disdain and hate towards them.


    Just as he had fished out the key for the cuffs, Jack slowly shook his head and said, ¡°No need to undo the cuffs. If you take them off, I will never be able to rest.¡± Jack¡¯s face held a bit of helplessness but the old man was confused as he asked, ¡°Why? You feel like you can¡¯t resist the urge to escape if you can use your abilities?¡± Jack then gestured for the old man to sit back down and asked, ¡°You heard about my abilities from John and the rest?¡±


    The old man was startled but nodded his head slowly. Jack then exhaled a deep breath as he said, ¡°I lied to them. I am not a Dual Ability user but rather I have one ESP Ability called [Dream Engineer].¡± Hearing this, the old man was even more confused and wanted to ask him something but Jack beat him to it and explained, ¡°My eyes are not called [Eyes of Destruction and Creation] but rather they are part of the [Dream Engineer]. [Dream Engineer] has three functions and due to that it is ranked as a SSS Grade Mechanical ESP Ability.¡± The old man was now serious as he listened to Jack.


    Seeing the old man attentively listen, Jack continued, ¡°The three functions of the ability are named: [Eyes of Assembly and Disassembly], [Engineer¡¯s Mind] and [Part¡¯s Production]. [Eyes of Assembly and Disassembly] are like I described to John and the rest however, is is not only limited to blueprints. [Part¡¯s Production] isn¡¯t only limited to metals, it allows me to also manipulate plastics and rubber. If you put a giant hunk of metals, plastic and rubber in front of me, I could create a completely working Speeder.¡± As Jack¡¯s explanation continued, the old man¡¯s face showed more and more surprise. He had not expected such a perverse mechanical ability. He thought to himself, ¡°From the description of the two functions, it is already a very perverse mechanical ability that every Mechanic, Engineer or Researcher would yearn after.¡± However, when he remembered that Jack had one more function called the [Engineer¡¯s Mind], cold sweat started flowing down his back.


    Jack continued, ¡°[Engineer¡¯s Mind] is a double edged sword actually. When used in synchronisation with [Eyes of Assembly and Disassembly], it can remember any piece of technology or architecture out there. It will record everything in my mind and I can access it at any time possible. However, the drawback is that I get absorbed in different things very easily.¡±


    He slowly shook his head and explained a bit more, ¡°The main function of [Dream Engineer] is exactly the [Engineer¡¯s Mind], all other functions are only supplementary to it. [Engineer¡¯s Mind] is the ability most yearned after by every Mechanic, Engineer or Researcher because it makes the ESP-ers mind just like a computer. It allows me to record everything I see and make intricate calculations with my mind. It also allows me to make a blueprint of every piece of technology I see. The more functions of it I see, the more precise the blueprint will be. However, the drawback is that every little thing can trigger the [Engineer¡¯s Mind] and make me fall in my little world.¡± Hearing this far, the old man was thoroughly stupefied.


    He now understood very well why this ability was ranked as a SSS Grade Mechanical ESP Ability. If you provided every single blueprint you had to him with exact details on all of the functions and then just provided raw materials for him, he could come out with one overpowered invention after another. However, from Jack¡¯s explanation he realized that it also had it¡¯s drawbacks. Any single thing can trigger the [Engineer¡¯s Mind] and it did not choose a time or location for it. If he got absorbed in the middle of combat, it could be fatal for him. If he was in a safe place, where no one could hurt him, it was the best ability in terms of inventions and otherwise mechanical tinkering. However, if you placed him in a fight, any little trinket his enemies or allies had might trigger the ability and make him fall into his own little world. If he does that, he will discard all safety and he might die without even knowing what happened.


    The old man looked at Jack in suspicion and asked, ¡°So, you are afraid that you will trigger the [Engineer¡¯s Mind] making you absorbed in something?¡± Jack seriously nodded his head and the old man asked in curiosity, ¡°Why did you decide to tell me your real ability? You could have just kept it hidden, no?¡± Jack looked out of the window when the old man asked him this question. Jack then then let out a sigh and said, ¡°Remember I said that I have a few things I need to say to you if I truly were your grandson?¡± The old man realized something and then said, ¡°Yes, I remember. So what you wanted to tell me was this?¡±


    Jack looked at the old man and said, ¡°This was one of the things, the other was to ask a favour from you.¡± The old man tilted his head lightly and asked, ¡°A favour?¡± Jack then nodded his head and said, ¡°The reason I told you my real ability was because I need your help to find someone. And to find her, I need materials, with the Merchant Faction¡¯s connections, it might not be hard to find the materials I need.¡± Hearing the word ¡°her¡± the old man¡¯s eyes lit up as he asked with a wide smile, ¡°You need me to find your little girlfriend?¡±


    Jack looked at the old man in all seriousness and said, ¡°She was my partner on the Island. When we escaped, we got separated and I would like to ask for your help in finding her.¡± The old man lost all his joking demeanour as he asked, ¡°She was your Partner?¡± Jack nodded his head and said, ¡°Yes, on the Island, we teamed up in order to raise our survival chances. Since in the end a maximum of three people were allowed to live, the maximum number of people in most teams was three. Me and her were a tag team, I took care of the planning and long range fire while she took care of intelligence gathering and close quarter. By relying on each other, we survived this long. If we had been alone, it would have been hard for either of us to survive this long or escape for that matter.¡± The old man seriously nodded his head.


    Jack did not hesitate to run with such serious injuries that almost cause his death. For him to feel concerned for his partner, it showed how deeply they relied on each other. The old man asked, ¡°What do you need?¡± Jack then listed all of the materials he needed and the old man wrote down everything. What surprised him was that Jack even said the minimum amount of materials needed. When he was done, the old man looked through the list and said, ¡°These materials will not be hard to find. I probably have most of them in stock as well. It will take about two or three days to get all of them, however, what do you need all these materials for?¡± Jack then smiled and said, ¡°To create a Tracker.¡±


    ¡°A Tracker?¡± The old man¡¯s eyes furrowed. Jack then explained, ¡°Before we left the Island, I gave her a pendant that has a built in tracker. I told her that I would find her with it¡¯s help. As long as she still wears the pendant and it is not destroyed, no jammers can disrupt it¡¯s signal. However, to track this signal you need a specialized tracker built just for finding the frequency the signal is transmitted on. You won¡¯t be able to find it even with the best military grade tracker.¡± Hearing this, the old man looked at Jack like he was a monster.


    He then asked, ¡°Where did you get the blueprint for this kind of a thing?¡± Jack then cast his head down and said, ¡°From Mom¡¯s collection. Usually, she put me on her lap when I was small. She mostly created one blueprint of an invention after another and I, who was usually sitting on her lap, accidentally recorded all those blueprints.¡± The old man just lowered his head as well. He knew very well that Samantha was a peerless genius when it came to technology. She usually pumped out one invention after another. The old man raised his head and looked at the window. Just as he did that, the sky started brightening and the first rays of sunlight came across the horizon. The old man then just sighed and said, ¡°Okay, get some rest for now, I will find all those materials for you. You need something else as well?¡± Jack thought about it for a second and then said, ¡°I need a Galactic map as well. One that can be linked to other devices.¡±


    The old man nodded his head and then said to Jack, ¡°Okay, I will bring all the things you need in the next few days. You should get some rest in the meantime.¡± Jack nodded his head and then the old man left the room. After Jack was left there all alone, he kept gazing out of the window and just let out a bitter laugh as he said, ¡°What a weird twist of fate this is. Just as I was being transported back to that survival island, I got accidentally got rescued by my family. Although they seem to all care for me, trusting them will not be easy for me¡­.¡±


    He then just laid down and closed his eyes as he mumbled, ¡°I wonder how Hedi is doing, did she get out safe?¡± Without forcing himself to stay awake much longer, he quickly fell asleep.


    On a planet far away from the one Jack was on, a little girl just woke up on a small bed. The girl had chestnut brown hair and brown eyes. On her hands little were various scars and as she jawned after waking up, she went out the door. When she reached the kitchen, the young woman who was making food, looked towards her and asked with a smile, ¡°Good morning Hedi, you woke up early again.¡±


    The little girl then looked at the young woman making food and said with a smile, ¡°Good morning.¡± The young woman smiled to her and then gestured at the table. ¡°Sit down, breakfast will be done soon.¡± The little girl nodded her head and sat down at the table. She then fished out a pendant form under her clothes and as she stared at it, the young woman let out a chuckle, ¡°You still waiting for your little boyfriend to come?¡± Hedi pursed her lips in response to the young woman¡¯s teasing and pouted, ¡°How long will it take him to find me? Dummy Jack.¡± Hearing this, the young woman let out a little laugh as she put a bowl of porridge in front her. She then said, ¡°Give him time, you don¡¯t know where he is right? He may already be on his way here.¡±


    The little girl glared at the pendant for one last time before putting it back inside her clothes. A merry laugh came from the doorway as a middle aged man walked in. The middle aged man looked at Hedi and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, men keep their promises. If he promised to find you, then he will find you, no matter how long it takes.¡± Hearing that, the little girl nodded her head as she said with a smile, ¡°Mhm.¡±


    The middle aged man let out a merry laugh again as he said, ¡°Come now, let¡¯s the eat breakfast that your Big Sis made.¡± After saying so, he took a spoonful of porridge and said, ¡°This is really good. Your future husband will truly be a blessed man.¡± Hearing this, the young woman blushed and said, ¡°Dad!¡±


    Hedi however just laughed lightly. It seemed like it was a usual every morning conversation.

 Chapter 5: New home

    When the little girl finished eating, she quickly said thanks and then went towards her room and changed her clothes. She took off her pyjamas and put on a white short sleeved shirt and long green pants. She then rushed past the kitchen and said, ¡°I am going out to play.¡± The middle aged man nodded and said, ¡°Have fun.¡±


    The young woman however just shouted to her on the doorstep, ¡°Be careful!¡± However, she just heard a faint answer, ¡°I will.¡± After the little girl had left, the atmosphere in the room turned serious as the middle aged man asked the woman in a serious tone, ¡°Has she said anything?¡± The young woman shook her head lightly and said, ¡°Nothing. All we know is that someone will pick her up some day but where she came from or the origin of those scars, those are all a mystery.¡±


    The middle aged man let out a deep sigh as he massages his temples. The man was wearing a simple T-shirt and pants. His build was slightly muscular and his hair was cut short. His hair was brown and his skin had a bronze hue from working outside. The young woman however had a slender build and her skin was pale. She usually wore simple dresses and her blonde hair dropped until her lower back.


    Hedi had appeared out of thin air 4 months ago. The young woman had been hanging up laundry at that moment when Hedi just appeared and dropped into the clothes basket. Her clothes had been in a tattered state and there were some closed wounds on her. She lost consciousness immediately after appearing, so the young woman had brought her inside and put her on a bed. She even called a doctor that looked over her and said that there was nothing wrong with her and she just needed rest. Afterwards, they had offered her to stay there until someone came to pick her up.


    About 2 weeks ago, a troop from Kriegrich Empire had come looking for someone, however, when the middle aged man had told Hedi about it, she had panicked and gone into hiding. Even an idiot could tell that she was hiding from them for some reason. Since this planet wasn¡¯t under Kriegrich Empire¡¯s jurisdiction, they had no power here and when they tried to forcefully search the area, the military had arrived. S


    ince their Aldurin Republic had the same might that Kriegrich Empire had, the Kriegrich Empire did not dare to force the matter. Since they could do nothing, they left with a bitter feeling. After they had left, all they learned from Hedi was that ¡°They were bad people.¡±


    The man just sighed as he said, ¡°Normally, she acts like a spoiled little child but when you ask her about anything regarding her, her eyes turn colder than a soldiers. Her past is in no way simple and if you couple it with the fact that the Kriegrich Empire nearly forcefully searched the area¡­.¡± The young woman also seriously nodded her head and added, ¡°However, she isn¡¯t dangerous and is usually obedient. When that ¡°Jack¡± comes, we may find out something. Before that, I wouldn¡¯t hold my breath.¡±


    Outside the kitchen window, squatting under the kitchen window¡¯s sill was Hedi. Her eyes looked cold as she mumbled to herself, ¡°Stupid Jack, when will you come and pick me up? If I truly have to wait 5 years to meet up with you under the clock tower, I will make you pay for that.¡± She then quietly left the spot and ran to the streets.


    Her eyes flashed as she thought to herself, ¡°To get to the Aldurin Main Planet, I need money. Time to get to work.¡± After that, she started wandering the streets and her hands flashed every once in a while, ¡°borrowing¡± a random passerby¡¯s wallet. The legend of ¡°Ghost Hands¡± was born that day.


    ***


    Several days had passed since Jack and the old man had their little talk. After that day, although he kept his distance, he kept talking to Jack and he agreed with Jack to buy him a little house with a big basement area to turn into a mechanical laboratory. The old man said that he would pay for everything himself but Jack promised to pay him the money back. Since Jack was exceedingly stubborn on this, the old man could do nothing but relent in the end.


    However, he would not allow Jack to live alone in a huge house, so he arranged two people to also live in the house with Jack. Jack had fought back against this idea but this time, it was his turn to relent. Although it had only been several days, Jack¡¯s wounds had healed by 70% and were of no threat to his life any more. From now on, he would only need to come for a check up every week for a period of time and if not problems arose, Jack would eventually not need to come.


    Since there was no need for Jack to stay in the hospital any more, the old man brought Jack to his new home. Currently, Jack was wearing black jeans with a red T-shirt and a black jacket. He had explicitly told the old man that he disdains the colour of white and he will never wear any white clothes again because it reminds him of his previous days on the Island. The old man had then specifically picked clothes that did not even have a hint of white on them. What was the most eye catching about Jack was the red scarf around his neck.


    It was used to cover up a scar he got on the Island. It was shaped like a barbed wire and ran across his entire neck, when the old man and Alex asked him about it, he maintained his silence on how he got that. He turned into a glacier as he said, ¡°It was a bloody night when I got this scar. The person who gave this to me is probably still on the Island.¡± The cold aura he excluded made even the old man and Alex sweat. This same scar was actually what troubled Alex the most. Since Jack did not get proper medical treatment after getting this injury, it created permanent damage to his breathing ways.


    His breath was always short and a little haggard, however, since Jack had gotten used to it, he didn¡¯t mind it at all. As the old man, Jack and Alex walked down the street, Jack took in the scenery around him. The house he was going to live in was in the suburbs area of the city where middle class people owned houses. The neighbourhood was peaceful and the neighbours were friendly people. The reason they walked there instead of taking a car or something was so Jack could familiarize himself with the surroundings as well.


    Every time they came a cross a store or a big building, Alex or the old man explained what the place was and what could be done there. As they strolled along, they got quite a few peculiar glances. Since the Four Bosses were well known figures on this planet, anyone could recognize them. Alex was the Chief Doctor of the Hospital. He had saved the lives of countless people with his amazing medical skills. It wouldn¡¯t be weird to see the two of them have a walk but what brought the peculiar glances as the ten year old Jack. Comparing their heights with the old man and Alex, he was only a bit shorter than their rib cage.


    Ignoring all the gazes, they soon arrived at the house Jack was supposed to live in from now on. Jack then turned to the old man and asked, ¡°Gramps, will you now tell me who I am going to live together with?¡± The old man just smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be impatient, they are inside the house, so you will meet them again soon enough.¡± Jack frowned, ¡°Again?¡± Gramps let out a laugh as he said, ¡°Yes, you are already familiar with them, so don¡¯t worry.¡± After hearing that, Jack thought of a husband wife pair that might the people Gramps talked about. As they entered the house, delicious cooking aromas were spreading through the entire house. Gramps just laughed merrily, ¡°Oi, we are here.¡±


    Hearing that, a familiar voice came from the next door that said, ¡°We are in dining room!¡± Jack followed Gramps and Alex to the dining room and there were 6 people merrily chatting there already. All of these six people were actually people that Jack was quite familiar with. There was John, Krieg, George and three others. The three others were the Boss¡¯s of the three other Factions: Mercenary, Merchant and Government. Jack had met the three when he was hospitalized. Jack greeted everyone and then turned towards his Gramps and asked, ¡°So the people that will be staying here are Krieg and Ellen?¡±


    The old man let out a little laugh as he nodded his head. Krieg then added, ¡°I am getting a bit too old to keep running around with the young ones. I had thought of retiring from active duty for quite a while already but never really had the chance to do so.¡± Jack took his seat and then asked, ¡°Why?¡± Krieg then let out a laugh as he said, ¡°Because I have no other skills other than raiding and smashing stuff. It is hard for me to find a job outside the ship.¡±


    Jack then made an ¡°Ohh!¡± sound as he listened to Krieg¡¯s explanation. Krieg then turned to Jack and said, ¡°So you have decided to settle down for now?¡± Jack then swung his feet on the big chair and said, ¡°Yup, I am tired of all the fighting and bloodshed. For one lifetime, I have had enough of it. All I want to do settle down and hole up in a room with machinery.¡±


    Everyone stayed quiet after hearing that but suddenly John laughed, ¡°It is quite peculiar to hear such deep words from someone so small.¡± Jack then gave a smile filled with sadness towards John and said, ¡°On the Island, you grow up fast or you never will.¡± This sentence brought the whole mood down.


    Everyone were quiet as no one knew what to say but Jack, realizing he messed up, asked the Government Faction¡¯s Boss, ¡°Taavi, is your offer for a researcher still valid?¡± Taavi, then snapped out and quickly answered, ¡°Yup, although I can¡¯t promise work all the time, if you create something good or do a custom work for us, we will pay you quite handsomely.¡± Hearing this, everyone present were puzzled but seeing this, Taavi explained, ¡°When I was visiting Jack, he asked me if we had a Research Department. Then he offered his services and since I honestly have no idea about his true skills, I can not give a definite answer.¡± After Taavi explained it, everyone had a face of realization.


    Gramps however just pouted, ¡°Why are you going to work already? Why not go to school for now?¡± This wasn¡¯t the first time Gramps offered him a full scholarship into one of the most prestigious Academy¡¯s in the Galaxy. Jack just said, ¡°I first need to go and get that princess. If I truly wait five years, I have a feeling I will end up worse than a few days ago.¡±


    Hearing this, Alex nudged him as he joked, ¡°So the little princess is a feisty one? Interesting.¡± Jack frowned as he looked Alex. Alex then put on an innocent face as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you are not the only one with a feisty princess, isn¡¯t that right Father?¡± As he finished his sentence, he looked over Jack towards his Father. Jack also looked at Gramps and he just sighed, ¡°Jack, my grandson, take my advice. Feisty women are difficult to deal with.¡±


    Just as he finished saying that, a voice carried over form the doorway, ¡°Is that so, then do you want me to discipline you and show you how feisty I really am?¡± Everyone¡¯s gazes turned towards the doorway in synchronisation and saw a woman with grey hair standing there with a dish of food. Jack greeted her, ¡°Hello Grandma.¡± The woman¡¯s feisty expression disappeared and was replaced with a warm smile.


    She then said, ¡°Little Jack, don¡¯t listen to this unruly brute. I want to meet my Granddaughter-in-law even more now.¡± Jack then tilted his head towards the old woman and said, ¡°What is that?¡± The old woman then said, ¡°When a man and a woman love each other very much, they marry to show that they want to spend their lives together. They also sleep together, do everything together and regard each other very highly.¡± Hearing the explanation, Jack dropped a bombshell on everyone by saying, ¡°Me and Hedi used to sleep together on the Island, does that mean that we are married?¡±


    The whole room quieted down as everyone¡¯s gazes turned to Jack. Grandma had even nearly dropped the plate of food she was putting on the table. Jack had no idea of the things between men and women. On the Island they slept in each other¡¯s arms so that they could share their body warmth, also since they were so close to each other, Hedi could warn Jack when someone came too close. Alex then asked, ¡°You slept together? You mean in the same bed?¡±


    Jack looked towards him and said, ¡°We did not have beds there, so we slept in each other¡¯s embrace to share the body warmth and so she could warn me quickly when someone came too close.¡± Hearing this, everyone realized that they had misunderstood each other. They had all even pondered if kids at that age could even perform the act. Gramps then patted Jack on the head and said, ¡°No, you two aren¡¯t married. Well, you will understand what your Grandma meant in a few years.¡±This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    Hearing this, Jack nodded his head. He was quite confused why everyone looked at him with such a peculiar gaze before but he didn¡¯t bother himself much with it. Soon the table was filled with food and Grandma, Ellen and Sandra came out of the kitchen. After a few toasts, they all ate. The meal was delicious so it was finished quite fast. After the meal was finished, they all chatted a bit and seeing that it was already evening Sandra, John, Taavi, George, Martin, Boss of the Merchant Faction and Ivar, the leader of the Mercenary Faction, left.


    All that was left was Krieg, Ellen, Gramps, Grandma and Jack. After sending everyone off, Krieg and company showed Jack around. Krieg and Ellen¡¯s bedroom was on the first floor but Jack had the whole second floor of the house to himself. On the second floor was Jack¡¯s room, a bathroom, a storage and a guest bedroom. On the first floor was the living room/dining room, kitchen, bathroom, garage and Krieg¡¯s and Ellen¡¯s bedroom. When Jack arrived in his bedroom, he found it very spacious.


    Besides the big two person bed there was a closet full of clothes and one wall was filled with bookshelves. The bookshelves held various books on machinery, scrapped inventions and materials. Besides the desk, there was also a balcony. The walls of the room were red with black flower paintings. After Jack had familiarized himself with the room, he was led down to the basement. The basement was filled with all sorts of blueprints, apparatuses and materials. Jack looked around wide eyed and then turned to the old man, ¡°Gramps, I truly would not have expected you to work this fast.¡± Everyone¡¯s faces changed as Gramps let out a bitter laugh, ¡°This house belonged to your parents.¡±


    Jack turned towards the old man and the old man squatted down to his eyeline. He then said, ¡°All the things in the house were the done by you parents. Your room decoration included. Before they left, Freddy left the keys and the Deed to the house in my hands.¡± He then fished out a chip and the key¡¯s and gave them to Jack, ¡°They are yours now.¡± Jack accepted the keys and looked at the for quite a while. No one knew what Jack was thinking about but none of them disturbed him either. After gazing at the key¡¯s for a bit, Jack put them away.


    He then turned towards the old man and asked, ¡°Are the materials I need here as well?¡± The old man nodded his head and pointed his finger towards a closed door, ¡°That place is the storage of the Laboratory Area. All of the materials you need are there plus the ones left behind.¡± Jack then nodded his head and walked towards the door. The door opened as Jack neared and when Jack entered the room, he was taken a back a bit.


    The storage area was even bigger than the laboratory area and it was filled with shelves. On the shelves all the materials were neatly organised and categorised. Seeing the extensive amount of materials, Jack¡¯s eyes lit up as he quickly took all the materials he needed. When he brought all the materials he needed out and put them in the centre of the spacious room in a circular manner, with a little hole in the middle, everyone looked puzzled. Krieg asked, ¡°Are you going to make this Tracker now?¡±


    Jack came out with the last materials he needed and hearing the question, he looked at Krieg as he nodded, ¡°Yup, if I take too long with this, I may end up going against Heidi instead of Hedi.¡± The four people¡¯s faces showed confusion as Ellen asked, ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Jack put down the last materials and was looking over all the materials on the ground to make sure he did not forget something. Without even turning his head he answered, ¡°Hedi usually acts like a spoiled princess but every time we fought, she started calling herself Heidi instead and her whole demeanour changed. She turned into an exceedingly cold person that did not even flinch when she killed someone.¡±


    When Jack answered, everyone¡¯s eyes went wide in astonishment. They all looked towards Ellen and Ellen said in a serious, quiet voice, ¡°She probably has a Split Personality Disorder. Growing up in that kind of an environment, it is no surprise actually.¡± She took a breath and continued, ¡°A person usually subconsciously creates an another personality when their mind is on the verge of breaking. 90% of people with a Personality Disorder actually developed the second personality when they were little to cope with some terrible event.¡±


    As Ellen explained, a thought passed through all their minds, ¡°Is this what the Kriegrich Empire is after?¡± However, they decided not to speak of it more at the moment and would acquire information about it afterwards. Everyone¡¯s eyes turned to Jack again and it was right at that moment, Jack let out a deep breath and inhaled a big mouthful of breath again as he blinked his eyes three times rapidly. A blue glow came on his right eye and a red glow appeared on his left eye. He then stretched out his arms and white threads started extending from his fingers and the other side of the threads latched themselves to different materials scattered on the floor.


    When the other side of the threads were attached to the materials, they were enveloped by a milky white glow as they started levitating in the air. The different materials started changing shapes rapidly as Jack¡¯s finger¡¯s moved like he was playing a piano. Every movement of a finger provoked a reaction from a thread attached to that finger. Soon, gears, wires and a screen were done and were floating a bit further away from the other materials that were still being formed. In another 15 minutes, there were hundreds of gears, screws, bolts and wires floating around.


    Then Jack took a deep breath as his fingers started moving even more rapidly. The entire bit of machinery started assembling itself as the pieces connected to one another. When the whole interior system was done, it was gently placed inside a box. Seeing the box floating in front of him, Jack looked at it with his right eye and then nodded his head.


    He then fished out a battery from nearby and put it inside the box. He then held down a button and when the screen started lighting up, Jack smiled as he said to himself, ¡°Done, now all that is left is to insert the program to it.¡±


    It was then that he turned his head towards four people that were standing near the door. All of their faced showed absolute astonishment, they had not come out from their shock even now that Jack was done. Usually, it would take a few days to create a little Tracker like this with specialized equipment for it¡¯s production. That was a conservative estimate in cases that it only needed assembly as all the gears and wires and screws are already done. However, Jack only took half an hour to build one from literally raw materials. If someone told them this, they would not believe it and would laugh at the person but since it all happened right in front of their eyes, they had no other choice than to believe it.


    It was also now that they understood exactly how perversely broken this [Dream Engineer] was in terms of creating machinery. Krieg mumbled in astonishment, ¡°Did he seriously create a working piece of machinery from raw materials in less than half an hour?¡± Gramps blankly answered, ¡°Yes he did. If I hadn¡¯t seen it with my own two eyes, I would never have believed it.¡± Everyone present nodded their heads as they blankly followed Jack¡¯s movements with their eyes. They were utterly stupefied from Jack¡¯s display of ability.


    Thinking about the possibilities of the ability, they felt their minds blank even more. Jack however, did not even pay them any attention and started fiddling with the Tracker in his hands. Even though he had created the machine itself, he still needed to program it to make it work. This was a lot harder than actually creating the machine. His ability didn¡¯t allow him to simultaneously program it while he was building it, so he could only use the extensive amount of knowledge in his head to program this tracker now.


    However, programming the settings wasn¡¯t his forte, so it would take a lot longer than creating the actual machine did. Jack soon put the Tracker on the table as he turned towards Krieg and the rest. Seeing him looking at them, Gramps snapped back to reality and asked, ¡°You finished it already?¡± Jack shook his head and said, ¡°Not yet, I still need to program it. If I had the program done already, I could just burn it onto the Tracker to make it work but since I don¡¯t have it, I only have an empty shell.¡± After hearing that, everyone let out a sigh of relief.


    Unknowingly, they had started to feel envious of Jack¡¯s ability and if he could finish the programming as well in about an hour or so, they would truly feel that fate is unfair. When they heard that Jack needed more time to create the program as well, they felt relief that his ability was not completely broken and could at least not do everything.


    Gramps raised a brow and asked, ¡°You said that this Tracker works on a special frequency, right? Couldn¡¯t you have programmed an already existing Tracker to find that frequency?¡± Jack turned towards the old man and said, ¡°The ability of a Tracker is determined by two things: The materials and the program. All military grade Trackers are made from good materials that complement the program written on the Tracker. This is also the reason some Trackers find some signals but other Trackers can not find that signal no matter what.¡±


    He then looked at the Tracker on the table and said, ¡°This Tracker is made for the specific reason to find that signal. The materials the pendant was made from are able to discard all jammers and are untraceable through other Trackers. It is kind of hard to explain to others.¡± He could only put on a helpless face as he slowly shook his head.


    The Tracker¡¯s materials had special interactions that allowed it to find frequencies that were usually unfindable. Gramps thought about it for a second and asked, ¡°Could you create communication channels using these frequencies?¡±


    Jack nodded his head and said, ¡°It is possible to tap into these frequencies and use them for communication. It works on the same principal as other communication channels. If you tune two or more communicators to the right frequency, they can converse on it without other¡¯s knowing about it.¡± Hearing this Gramps¡¯s eyes lit up as he asked, ¡°If I asked you to build these types of communicators that worked on these frequencies that were usually hidden, how long would you need?¡± Jack thought about it for a second before saying, ¡°Well, since I have not done these kind of communicators before, I would need a bit of time to make a working prototype. Then I need time to write the program for it as well, after that comes the testing period of whether it can ignore jammers and how long the range is to use it and so on.¡± Hearing this Gramps nodded seriously. He understood from Jack¡¯s words that it would take a while to create them because there were a lot of things that needed to be tested before he could give them over. Even if he can create a working prototype in a short period of time, he still needs time to test the limits of the communicator. It would not be a short process and would need at least half a year.


    Ellen then pointed towards the Tracker and asked, ¡°How long would you need to program it?¡± Jack just sighed, ¡°A couple of days are needed at least. I have to write the program from scratch and then configure it to work together with the Galactic Map. Even then I can¡¯t be completely sure of the results before we follow the coordinates and they match up with the origin of the signal.¡± Jack then walked towards the door leading outside of the laboratory and said, ¡°Well, I am going to go and sleep.¡± They all looked at Jack with a blank face.


    Seeing that, Jack just pointed out, ¡°I am currently tired and rushing things will make more work for me as there will most likely be more mistakes made if I push myself too much. It is more beneficial to rest up and continue in the morning. Hearing Jack¡¯s words, they all left the laboratory. They however felt a bit awkward about having their roles switched. They had turned into eager little children while Jack had turned into the adult.


    Gramps and Grandma also left for home and the three left in the house were currently all sitting in the living room. Krieg looked at Jack who was having a cup of cocoa and asked, ¡°When do you plan to go and pick up that girl?¡± Jack took a sip of cocoa and said, ¡°As soon as I can. However, before anything else, I need to pinpoint her location. If she was caught by the Kriegrich Empire, it is going to be a lot more tricky than before.¡±


    Krieg seriously nodded his head to that. Jack then continued, ¡°If she was caught by the Empire, then I am just going to have to resort to some drastic measures.¡± Hearing this Krieg felt a shudder from the cold smile on Jack¡¯s face. His battle prowess was something he had seen first hand and now having seen the assembly of such an intricate piece of machinery like it was a child¡¯s play, he started fearing what would happen if Jack decided to go all out. It would probably be easy for him to create weapons that no one could guard against and if he created a ship that was nigh indestructible as well then, he could create a calamity. However, there was one thing that no one knew. In Jack¡¯s head was a very special blueprint: Nuclear Fission Bomb.


    He had continuously modified this blueprint from the day he was sent to the Island. Currently, he could create the bomb to be as small as a small bouncing ball but have the explosive power to completely evaporate a 100 square kilometer asteroid. Although the materials needed to create this thing were very precious and rare, it would only be a bit of a challenge for the Merchant Faction to obtain them.


    If Hedi truly was held by the Kriegrich Empire, he would first send a request to them to release her. If they ignored the request, he would use the bomb on one of the Planets under Kriegrich Empire as a warning to them. If they still ignored him, he would just drop one of these bombs directly on the Imperial Palace.


    There were two types of men who the world feared: First of all, Extremely powerful people with a lot of connections and an army. The second would be Madmen.


    The first kind of people were feared because they could make it so that you would lead a life worse than death with a word. However, madmen were feared because they simply did not give a shit.


    It would be wrong to say that Jack¡¯s mentality hadn¡¯t deviated from a normal persons from his time on the Island. Although it wasn¡¯t very obvious, he could actually be listed as one of the most dangerous madmen out there.

 Schedule like thingamabob.

    The schedule is as following: There is absolutely, one hundred precent, no schedule. My main focus is on rewriting Dragon Cross and this time following the original story line I had in mind, without the random things I put in before.


    Dream Engineer will be posted practically whenever I finish a chapter. For that reason, no one should expect there to be a chapter each week. I will try to write atleast one chapter per week but since I will mostly focus on Dragon Cross, I may not post a chapter each week. When the Chapter comes, it will usually be on Saturday or Sunday.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    As a before hand warning, next weekend (17,18 Dec) There will be no chapter because I will be on a three day mandatory company winter holiday to God knows where. Since I have absolutely no idea where the hell we are going, I will not make any promises I can''t keep.


    Also, check out Poro Land on wordpress:PORO LAND</a>

 Chapter 6: Picking up the Princess

    After finishing his cocoa, Jack head upwards to his room. When he entered the room, he simply stood at the doorway. He didn¡¯t know how to act any more. Although the DNA test proved that the old man truly was his Grandfather, Jack didn¡¯t know or more precisely, remember, the feeling of a family. He had been five when he was separated from his parents and thrown to the Island.


    Saying that they were family and all of this was left to him by his parents was all nice and well but, Jack couldn¡¯t relate to any of these people. Although he wasn¡¯t completely on guard against them, he didn¡¯t trust them either. Alex had told him that all this would take time to adjust to and it was okay to take it at his own pace. It was ludicrous to have him trust them just because of a simple test and just their word.


    All the Faction Leaders, Krieg, Ellen and the rest, none of them blamed him for being so cautious all the time. It could neither be blamed on him or condemned in any way either. This could only be fixed with time, it couldn¡¯t be rushed, neither could it be forced in any way. ¡°Time¡­.¡± As he murmured that to himself, he took one last look at the room and exited the door.


    He didn¡¯t feel comfortable in the room, so he headed to the only place he did feel comfortable in, the Laboratory. Since he could remember, he felt most secure and comfortable around various machinery. As he headed back to the basement, he passed the kitchen as well. Just before he was out of reach, he heard Krieg say, ¡°Don¡¯t push yourself too much. Jack isn¡¯t going to disappear again.¡±


    Jack stopped the moment he heard that and leaned against the wall as he decided to listen in on the conversation. Ellen answered, ¡°He is my sister¡¯s son, my nephew. The last time I saw him, he was so tiny.¡± Krieg agreed, ¡°Yes and I remember what happened when he disappeared the first time. You with half the planet were searching for traces of him and your sister.¡±


    Krieg then sighed, ¡°Freddy¡¯s charisma¡­ It was on a completely different scale. He could even make an enemy like him. However, what no man can understand is¡­. Why Kriegrich Empire?¡±


    Ellen sobbed a bit as she agreed, ¡°Although we weren¡¯t in war with them at the time, there were still dozens, if not hundreds of better locations.¡± Krieg then let out a deep sigh, ¡°Unless we can find them, we will never know. But lately, Boss has been thinking deeply on the matter though.¡± Ellen raised her head and looked at him in confusion. Krieg patted her head lightly and said with a serious expression, ¡°Both him and Madame are both ESP-ers with a SS rank ability. It is really odd that he only has a A rank ability [Metal Manipulation]¡±.


    After saying this far, a sign of shock was in Ellen¡¯s eyes as she asked in shock, ¡°You mean that he has another ability as well or has hidden his real ability?¡± Krieg helplessly nodded his head as he said, ¡°Either way, until we find them, we can only speculate. As for concrete answers, we can only hear them from the person himself.¡± Ellen nodded her head as she rose up to wash her cup.


    Seeing that the conversation had finished, Jack silently decided to head to the basement. On his way there, he tried to remember what his father had been like. As he mulled on it, he remembered something that happened just before he had been taken by the military. His Father had taken him to a small hill nearby the village in the middle of the night. Since Jack was small, he didn¡¯t understand the conversation back then and with the events that happened soon after, he had forgotten about this conversation until now.


    The small Jack was sitting on a boulder and as he looked at the starry sky, his father next to him said, ¡°Don¡¯t blame your mother for what happens in the next five years. This is all on me and when we meet again in the future, I promise I will tell you everything.¡± He then patted Jack¡¯s head and said in soft words, ¡°This is all for the sake of settling Karma, I am sorry little one.¡± As he said that, a small tear escaped his eye. Back then, Jack didn¡¯t understand the meaning behind his words but looking back at it now¡­. Jack¡¯s eyes turned cold as he mumbled, ¡°He knew that this would happen¡­ But how?¡±


    As he went over the information he knew and had learned in the past few days, he could only reach one conclusion, something big was going to happen soon. And, for better or worse, he was going to be one of the lead actors in this giant play. As for the reasons, he decided that if he met that man again some day, he would without a doubt beat the answers out of him.


    To him, all these people were none other than strangers, strangers that didn¡¯t mean him harm. He wasn¡¯t blind or stupid, he could see that they truly did care for him, however, he just couldn¡¯t make himself trust them. Even now, he was always ready for the possibility of them betraying him. The only person he did trust was Hedi.


    He had fought side by side with her for years and either one of them had had the possibility to kill the other one at any time. This trust wasn¡¯t easy to build and now that it was built, it was worth more than any other. With that in mind, Jack sat down at the table. He looked at the Tracker on the table with a blank gaze as his mind was preoccupied with several other thoughts. He thought back to the time spent on the Island and also about what he should do from now on. As he thought back to the time spent on the Island, his fingers involuntarily traced the barbed scar that ran across his neck.


    His eyes were cold as he thought back to the person that gave him the scar. ¡°He was one of the Seeded Students¡­.¡± Over the years, they had learned of the more ¡°intricate¡± workings of the Academy. Amongst the one hundred kids that were transported to the Island, 3 were the so called ¡°Seeded Students¡±. They came from the influential or big families of the Empire and they all had certain advantages over the other kids.


    All three of these kids were the shining stars of their families and had been raised with preparations for the Island. They all also could bring a few items from the outside to make their own lives easier on the Island. These advantage seemed like they didn¡¯t mean much individually but when the three were to team up¡­.


    This was what had happened this time as well. Their parents were all friends or connected one way or another so it wasn¡¯t hard for the kids to team up. Since all of them had advantages from the outside, they reigned supreme and were the main people that massacred the rest. Usually, after taking care of the other 97 people, the three would take the remaining time to train their ability.


    From time to time, there will be some special people amongst the 97 other participants that manage to snatch a spot from one of the seeded participants. This time, there were two that caused an enormous headache to the Seeded Students: Jack and Hedi.


    Their kill count was the highest and by their hands, one of the Seeded Participants had fallen while the other two had manage to escape with grievous wounds. If their own wounds hadn¡¯t been as serious as theirs, then those two would not be alive either. ¡°I wonder who will survive in the end¡­.¡± As he mumbled that to himself, he sighed deeply as his eyes focused on the Tracker.


    He wasn¡¯t sleepy so he powered up the laboratory computer. When it had started working, several notifications appeared that told Jack that the computer needed to be updated. Jack sighed as he clicked ¡°Yes¡± to everything that told him to update something. It took the computer nearly an hour to finish all the updates.


    He had gotten he passwords for the computer from his Grandfather. He didn¡¯t just watch the update during that hour bout rather, his mind was swirling around a special invention he wanted to create. His physical abilities were good but his Ability wasn¡¯t exactly made for combat¡­. He was currently quite high on the Most Wanted list of the Kriegrich Empire, it didn¡¯t take a genius to figure out that he would not have a quiet and peaceful life.


    He needed to create some weapons and defensive armour that he could use to make sure he survived another day. The way he decided to combat this problem was to create a high tech suit that he could carry everywhere that wasn¡¯t eye catching.


    The blueprints for the suit, weapons and the command unit were done however, he lacked a power source. Since it was a high tech suit of armour that could block all Energy Rounds and Physical Rounds, shoot out Physical Rounds and Energy Rounds, he needed an extremely powerful energy source. However, at the same time, it needed to be small, small enough that it was inconspicuous enough not to be noticed. This energy source was the main problem this suit was only possible in theory. The other was the command itself. It needed to link his mind with the suit.


    The AI technology was extremely primitive despite all the high technical advancements around the Galaxy. Jack needed to create an AI that could help assist him in battle, check his condition, manage the things needed. These two were the biggest obstacles at the moment, well, Jack already had an idea on the power source and currently was mentally running test on whether it was a feasible idea or not. However, the AI System was what gave him the biggest headache.


    Humans were so pathetically behind in creating a good AI System that Jack wanted to cry. ¡°These idiots¡­. All the technological advancements are towards weapons. General commodities have fallen so far behind that it a joke.¡± As Jack familiarized himself with the technology available on the market, all he could do was curse all the scientist, mechanics and engineers.


    In private laboratories and government offices, military bases, there were AI systems but they were basically only in charge of surveillance or turning lights on and off. The only option Jack had left was to get an AI System and improve it or build one from scratch himself.


    However, all AI Technology was extremely classified and near impossible to obtain unless you had either enormous amounts of money or status. Since he had neither, his only choice was to create a completely new AI System on his own. This wasn¡¯t going to be any short term project, even if he could create an AI in a short time, he would need a lot of time to work out all the bugs, glitches and improve it. Although, this would be a long term project and a costly project, he needed to keep himself safe.


    His Ability was weak in direct combat and had a lot of weaknesses but this suit would be able to negate nearly all of them. As Jack was lost in his thoughts, the computer finished installing all updates and had restarted. Jack threw all of those things to the back of his mind for now and focused on the program for the Tracker. Without Jack knowing, hours passed and it was morning now.


    After Krieg and Ellen had woken up and made breakfast. When Krieg went to wake up Jack to eat, he discovered that the bed was empty and there were no signs of him having even slept there. Krieg was alarmed and quickly searched the house for him. The last place he went to look was the basement, where the laboratory was. When he saw that the lights were on, he sighed in relief as he went in and saw Jack standing in the middle of the room with a giant hologram around him.


    Krieg¡¯s eyes turned big because holograms were usually used in military grade technology. What surprised Krieg more was that Jack could ¡°touch¡± the hologram. He then saw that Jack was wearing some gloves that he hadn¡¯t seen before. As Krieg spectated Jack interact with the hologram, Jack let out a deep sigh. Amongst the various dots that represented planets, one of the was blinking with a red light. When Jack enlarged the specific planet, Jack saw that the tracker was near the border of Kriegrich Empire. Kriegrich Empire had 12 planets that were completely under it¡¯s control but there were some other planets that had some territory that belonged to the Empire.


    Planets occupied by various Empires or Kingdoms were not anything unusual but this planet itself was neighbouring the border of the Empire. The Tracker traced the signal to a small little town a hundred kilometers from the nearest outpost of the Empire. The village itself belonged to the Aldurin Republic, if the Empire tried to forcefully search the area, it would impact the diplomatic relations between the two heavily. Worst case scenario, the two could even go to war.


    Although Jack didn¡¯t care whether they went to war or not, if they did, it would be hard to locate Hedi because she might get caught by the military or killed. Since the beacon was active and moving around, there was a high chance that Hedi was still alive and kicking. Besides, with Jack¡¯s knowledge of Hedi, she was no pushover or idiot either, she wouldn¡¯t stay there for long, so his only option was to borrow a ship and pick her up soon. As Jack went over the situation in his head, Krieg suddenly coughed, ¡°Time for breakfast.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    Jack looked at Krieg and then smiled wryly. Just as Jack smiled sheepishly, his stomach let out a grumble. Krieg laughed and said, ¡°Come on lets go.¡± As he smiled back, he turned around and started heading upstairs. Jack put the Tracker down and took off the gloves and put them besides the Tracker. He then headed upstairs to the dining room to have breakfast. As they finished eating, they sat down and drank coffee, Jack had cocoa of course. Krieg asked Jack, ¡°So, you finished the Tracker?¡±


    Jack looked at the cocoa in his hands and nodded his head. He then clarified, ¡°All that is left now is to go there and make sure it is working properly. Before that, I don¡¯t know if the signal caught was the one made from the beacon I made or not.¡± Krieg nodded his head but Ellen looked confused as she asked, ¡°You finished it already?¡±


    Jack nodded his head and looked out the window, ¡°Yea, I couldn¡¯t sleep last night, so I figured I might as well tinker with it a bit but before I knew it, Krieg told me breakfast was ready.¡± Krieg let out a hollow laugh as he said, ¡°You need to sleep a bit more. Your body isn¡¯t completely healed yet, don¡¯t overwork yourself.¡± Jack nodded his head. He could see that they were worried about him. Krieg then asked, ¡°How do you plan to pick her up?¡±


    Jack shook his head and answered, ¡°I don¡¯t know, probably try to board a merchant ship or travelling ship. I can¡¯t exactly show up with a private ship.¡± Krieg nodded his head and sighed while Ellen asked in confusion, ¡°Why not, it is far safer that way, no?¡± Krieg explained before Jack could, ¡°He is wanted by the Kriegrich Empire and the planet that the little miss is on, has three powers fighting over it. Kriegrich Empire, Aldurin Republic and Myriad Alliance¡­. If he showed up on a private ship, things would be far more complicated.¡± Ellen nodded her head understanding the situation now.


    She then fell into thought as she suddenly asked, ¡°Doesn¡¯t our Merchant Faction trade with them on a regular basis? If you talked to Martin, I am sure you could tag along with one of the ships that head there on a regular basis.¡± Hearing the suggestion, Krieg fell into thought while Jack also thought about the idea. Krieg then said, ¡°It isn¡¯t a bad idea to be honest. It is safer than taking a private ship or an international one.¡± As the three discussed the option of it, Krieg left the table for a bit to go and let Jack¡¯s Gramps know about it.


    Ellen and Jack made some small talk and after a while Krieg came back and said, ¡°It is settled. Your Grandpa talked to the Martin and we are in luck. The next ship that is scheduled to go is the day after tomorrow.¡± Jack nodded his head and rose up from his seat and started heading back to the laboratory. Seeing this Krieg asked, ¡°Where are you going?¡± Jack turned to him and said, ¡°To make preparations.¡± Krieg then nodded his head and talked to Ellen a bit before heading out.


    Two days passed by in a flash and the day to leave arrived. In front of the house, a black SUV was parked, waiting for the two to finish saying their goodbyes before the flight. The two were of course Jack and Krieg. There was no way they would let Jack go alone, so Krieg decided to tag along with a few old fellows from the Mercenary Faction. In total there were 11 people with Jack included. After Ellen reminded them to stay safe for dozens of times, he hugged them and kissed Krieg before the two sat in the car and left. When they arrived at the station where the ship was docked, they were greeted by a few people from the ship.


    As they introduced the ship and talked about the length of the trip and such, Krieg suddenly asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t the security a tad too much?¡± What Krieg was talking about was that there were men from the Mercenary Faction all over the ship with guns in hand and besides the Merchant ship, there were three Mercenary ships parked outside waiting. It was usual for a single Mercenary ship to escort a ship to the planet but this time there were three. The young man that was their guide smiled and gave a sheepish laugh as he explained, ¡°This time, the Boss is coming with us so the security was tripled.¡±


    Krieg¡¯s eyes opened wide as he asked, ¡°Martin is also coming there? Why?¡± The young man shook his head as he said, ¡°There have been some problems with the people we usually trade with. They are being pressured by the Kriegrich Empire not to trade with us so he is coming personally to negotiate with those merchants.¡± Krieg nodded his head as he quieted down. This was nothing new to them as the Kriegrich Empire always tried to use it¡¯s big scale and military might to intimidate others into not trading with them but merchants pursued profit.


    Kriegrich Empire was the worst trade partner for them as they thought too highly of themselves and always haggled over every little price and didn¡¯t know how to relent in trade. They overpriced everything they wanted to sell and severely lowered the price of everything they bought. No merchant wanted anything to do with them as they only suffered losses dealing with those idiots but for better or worse, their military might truly was strong and all sorts of accidents may happen to their ships in space.


    They needed that protective umbrella that is the Empire, so they have no other option than to trade with them. Then the young man looked out the window towards one of the Mercenary ships and added, ¡°Besides out Boss, the Mercenary Boss is also coming along. From what I can gather, they are planning on chocking the Empires influence there.¡± Krieg nodded his head as he thought back to what Jack¡¯s Gramps had said. He had told him that they had been trying to reach an agreement with the local and international merchants for a long time now and the two Bosses were heading there to put and end to these talks now.


    If they succeeded, their Regedas Alliance would have a lot more routes for trades and Mercenaries would also have a lot more job offers. This was simply how the business worked, the more connections and partners the Merchant Faction had, the more money flowed in for the Government and the more work Mercenaries had. Then, the more could Government invest in the Mercenaries and Merchants and so on. The cycle repeated itself and so the connections and power grew. As the power grew, the more options came into play and with that, they had more ways of earning reputation or making money. Krieg and the rest then went into the quarters they were given and focused on their own things for now. Although they gathered every once in a while to chat or go and eat, they mostly did their own things.


    Jack tinkered with machinery, Krieg read a book and so on. They were told that the ship needed to travel in Hyper Space for a week before they arrived in the Star System the planet belonged to. From time to time, Martin and Ivar also popped by to talk a few words and remind Jack to be careful. They also talked about mundane things and Jack learned a lot about his father¡¯s days as a Mercenary. And like that, the week flew by quickly and soon they arrived near the planets atmosphere. As Jack looked out the giant window from the Observation Deck, Krieg smiled and said, ¡°Welcome to the Garmoun Planet.¡±


    As the ship descended, they soon neared the airspace of the city that was the target of the trip. The little town wasn¡¯t far from the city only about fifty kilometers. When they reached the airspace, they suddenly received a transmission, ¡°Halt. This is restricted airspace and the city is currently at Defence Alert Stage 1. Unless you have a specific clearance, trespassing into the airspace will end in us shooting you down.¡±


    Martin frowned when he heard the transmission and ordered all the ships to halt outside the airspace as he communicated with the authorities of the City to gain entrance to the city. After half an hour of discussions, Martin frowned even deeper as he gathered Ivar, Krieg and Jack. He said, ¡°Kriegrich Empire has made aggressive military drills at the border so the city is currently on high alert. I was unable to gain entrance to the city via the ship, so the only choice we have left right now is to dock the ships at a neutral docking city and transport the goods via land.


    Ivar fell into thought and said, ¡°If it is like that then things will get a lot more complicated. I suggest we leave one ship with it¡¯s crew here to guard the ships and take the rest with us. Also, I will contact Headquarters to send us reinforcements.¡± His gaze then turned towards the horizon, in the direction of the Kriegrich Empire, ¡°I have a feeling this will become very problematic and complicated.¡±


    Martin nodded his head and had the navigator to locate the closest neutral docking city and make course there. After that he turned to Jack and asked, ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Everyone¡¯s gazes turned to Jack. On this trip there were three different parties with different objectives involved.


    Martin wanted to trade the goods and sign the contract with the merchants for long term trade. Ivar was here to negotiate with the Government here as they wanted to hire the Mercenaries to reinforce some cities that were closest to the border and also to mediate the alliance talks between Aldurin republic and Myriad Alliance situated on the planet. Although they had a common enemy, the Kriegrich Empire, their objectives with the alliance were different. The third party would be Jack¡¯s. They were here to bring Hedi with them.


    Jack thought about it a bit and said, ¡°If you can lend us a small ship, we have no problem with rendezvousing with you at the Docking City.¡± Ivar nodded his head and said, ¡°I can give you a small raiding ship and people to fly it but remember, take extra care. The situation here is quite odd and until we have a complete picture of what is going on, always be on alert.¡± Everyone nodded and Ivar had a ship brought over from one of the Mercenary ships.


    The ship had two pilots on it and when Jack and company boarded the ship, the pilots looked at the people present with utmost respect. The nine Mercenary Faction retirees were legends amongst the Mercenaries so to them it was an enormous honour to shofer them around. After getting the coordinates of their destination from Jack, the ship immediately set off towards them. As the ship travelled, they learned more of the current situation and when they heard that Kriegrich Empire had started invading the border, their faces grew cold. After half an hour, they got an updated map from Ivar that showed how far the Empire had advanced.


    Seeing that the beacon was past the advancement line, the faces of the eleven people turned exceedingly ugly. Krieg said to Jack in a low tone, ¡°This is bad. Currently, the signal is on their territory and there is a high chance she has been captured.¡± Jack didn¡¯t respond but instead was fiddling with the gun in his arms. Currently, all of them were dressed in black battle gear that provided decent protection from physical rounds and had and Energy Shield that negated Energy Rounds.


    The ten people looked at Jack, as if waiting for an answer. Jack then loaded the salve and inserted it into the rifle in his hands. He then loaded the weapon as he said with a cold smile, ¡°Trust me, she hasn¡¯t been captured yet.¡± Just as Krieg wanted to ask what he meant by that or how he knew that, one of the pilots suddenly said, ¡°Incoming fire, embrace for impact.¡±


    Just as the sentence ended, the ship shook. One of the Mercenaries with Jack said, ¡°Drop us off here and retreat back to base. We will find our own way back.¡± The pilot nodded his head and lowered the altitude so they were a bit over 3 meters high.


    As they maintained the altitude, they tried to hover as steadily as possible as they opened the hatch doors and the eleven people jumped out. The suits had a built in shock absorption that negated falling from twice as high. When the feet of the eleven people hit the ground, they all immediately dashed for cover as the ship turned around and headed back to base. This was currently the best choice of action they could take. The ship carried the Mercenary Factions Emblem on it, if they haphazardly had drove forward with it, it could have created a lot of problems.


    Now there were only eleven random people on the ground and unless they gave others their names, no one could tie them to Regedas. When they noticed that the gun fire had died down, they huddled up and looked at Jack. Jack was the head of this mission so what he said goes. If he said find a way around, then they would find a way around, if he said charge straight through, they would charge straight through. Jack looked at the signal and saw that they were pretty close, only about 5 kilometers away from it.


    Jack then said, ¡°Okey, circle around, we don¡¯t need to alarm them with our presence here. Our target is five kilometers away east from here. If we muscle our way through, we will attract more attention.¡± As everyone nodded their heads, Jack added coldly, ¡°However, our own lives are the top priority, if you see that you were discovered, immediately kill the enemy and move away. Any questions?¡±


    Not a word was said but rather, everyone loaded their rifles. Jack nodded his head and then loaded his own rifle and said, ¡°Move out!¡±


    With that, the small eleven man rescue squad moved out.


    ***


    Five kilometers from Jack location, in a small cave hidden in the forest, there were about a dozen people. Amongst those twelve people, one small girl caught everyone¡¯s eye. Her hands were covered in blood and in those two small hands, there were two military daggers.


    Her eyes were cold as she talked to a middle aged man with brown hair. The man asked, ¡°Who exactly are you? Those movements, that coldness¡­. You aren¡¯t human.¡±


    As the man said that, the little girl just snorted, ¡°If you wanna die then leave. If not, then stop asking such stupid questions.¡± The man felt angry but he then sighed deeply, ¡°I am sorry, this situation¡­ Just¡­. I, a grown ass man, froze in fear while you Hedi, a small little girl, killed every soldier that came after us.¡±


    Hedi then sighed as well, ¡°When we get out of here, I will tell you where I come from and why I am like I am, okay?¡± The man nodded and said, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to, you don¡¯t have to. Every one of us has things we don¡¯t want to tell others.¡± After that little conversation, the twelve people kept hiding in the cave as they thought of what to do.


    If they went out, they would most certainly not be able to escape intact. However, they would starve to death if they kept hiding in there. Just as they reached the end of their wits, Hedi¡¯s eyes started shining as she said, ¡°Jack¡­.¡±


    Just as she said that, the voice of a young boy echoed out from the cave mouth, ¡°I finally found you.¡± When the people in the cave looked at the cave entrance, they saw 7 men and a young boy in full battle gear standing at the mouth of the cave.