Chapter 178: A Ripper (1)
Chapter 176
An hour passed in the quiet room the Aspirants were currently occupying.
After the sudden icy, cold threat from Trisha, the boys were now on their best behavior, properly clothed and keeping to their own spaces.
Kai was occupied with his phone while reclining on his bed, though his brows kept twitching with increasing irritation.
Ray just lay motionless, his gaze fixed blankly on the ceiling as he lost himself in thought.
Van took the opportunity to quietly work on whatever mechanical junk he usually tinkered with, his hands moving with practiced precision.
Chloe just huffed silently, twirling her wrist as she used her kinetic ability to play around with a single arrow from her quiver, making it dance in mid-air.
Trisha didn’t look like she cared about the heavy silence at all; she lay on her abdomen with her face buried deep into the pillow, seemingly intent on catching some sleep despite the humidity.
"Argh... the network here is so bad!" Kai suddenly shouted in a fit of anger.
He gripped his phone furiously and was about to hurl the expensive device to the ground when he froze mid-motion, catching himself just in time.
With a defeated sigh, he tucked the gadget away, staring around the room only to find that nobody was paying any attention to his minor tantrum.
One long exhale later, he was about to lay back down when his eyes suddenly lit up with a new idea.
"Hey guys, why don’t we do something fun?"
"No thanks. I’m already having my fun here," Van replied from the corner where he sat facing the wall, still focused on the small components in his hands.
Chloe just huffed again, blowing away a stray strand of hair that had fallen over her face.
"Sure. What do you suggest?"
Ray blinked, refocusing back to reality as he slowly sat up straight on the edge of the mattress.
Kai beamed, happy to finally have an audience.
"How about we go grab some equipment or find some things that might help make our expedition much more manageable?"
Ray raised a curious brow at the suggestion.
"Gadgets like what?"
Kai stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment before replying.
"... Like guidebooks about the world and probably the horrors and dangers within it. Also, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I definitely need some sunscreen and maybe an umbrella. I can’t afford to ruin my perfect skin on this godforsaken planet."
Ray scowled at the last statement, unimpressed by the blonde’s vanity.
’I doubt anything can even ruin your skin.’
"Sure. I’m in," Chloe replied as she hurriedly rose from her bed.
She had been bored out of her mind for several minutes, wondering what she could possibly propose to the group just to exit this confined space that felt like a prison cell.
Kai had just eased her concern, and she would have been a fool not to take the opportunity to stretch her legs.
Turning to face Ray, Kai nudged his brows in a silent question.
"You in?"
Ray just shrugged indifferently, though he was secretly glad for the distraction.
"Yeah, sure."
Rising up, the three of them turned to stare at Trisha, who was still laying motionlessly on her bed.
Though they knew she likely wasn’t actually asleep, it was abundantly clear that she was entirely disinterested in tagging along.
While Van... Well, he was simply being Van, lost in his own world of gears and wires.
Without any further hesitation, the trio exited the room and headed back out into the metallic hallway.
***
A few stops and a bit of asking around eventually led them to the front of a small-looking store that, luckily, was shielded by a sturdy roof.
As they stepped through the entrance, a soft chime rang out from above their heads, signaling their arrival.
Not giving the sound a single glance, the trio began to look around the establishment.
Shelves lined the interior, leaning heavily against the walls and sagging under the weight of various gears and specialized tools.
There were topographical maps, high-intensity torches, durable outdoor wears, rugged backpacks, and countless other survival items.
A few meters across from the entrance sat a desk, where an incredibly weary, middle-aged man was seated with a profoundly bored expression.
"What do you want?" the man demanded, his voice flat with disinterest, until his gaze drifted from the kids’ faces and landed squarely on their military uniforms.
The moment his eyes registered the fabric, his pupils widened significantly, as if invisible money signs had begun manifesting within them.
With a wide, sudden grin, he quickly shifted his tone to something far more welcoming.
"Uh... how can I help you, dear Aspirants?"
Ray didn’t fail to take notice of the abrupt personality switch.
’What’s up with him?’
Kai didn’t even bother giving the man a reply.
Instead, he turned toward the shelves and began scanning the inventory calmly until he came across a specific unit that featured a glass casing with several books hidden behind the pane.
"Uh... what are those?" he asked, pointing directly at the shelf.
The man quickly scurried forward from his desk to stand beside the group.
"Those are guidebooks detailing the different beasts one might encounter within the safe zone of this planet."
"Safe zone?" Ray repeated, raising a skeptical brow.
"What exactly does that mean?"
The shopkeeper turned to look at him, the wide grin never leaving his face.
"Unfortunately, young one, information here comes at a certain price. So, unless you are willing to pay, I’m afraid I can’t say another word."
The teens stared at the man for several seconds, their eyelids fluttering in absolute disbelief.
’Is—is he actually trying to rob us? Or am I missing something?’ Ray mused, his expression one of total confusion.
Kai, however, didn’t seem to care much about the blatant greed as he reached into his pocket and held up his phone.
"How much?"
The man’s eyes locked onto the device in the boy’s hand.
A smartphone? Only the true elites of the world were able to afford such a luxury.
Those who were not so well-to-do had to manage with standard smartwatches, which possessed severely limited features compared to a smartphone.
For instance, smartwatch users were unable to properly connect to the global internet, couldn’t make direct voice calls, and were incapable of streaming movies.
Heck, one couldn’t even watch a basic news broadcast with a standard-issue watch.
They were limited to checking bank balances, viewing the time, displaying one’s grade—if they opted for the tracking system—and sending short messages with a very restricted character count.
’Jackpot,’ the man thought, his smile widening even more.
"It’s just fifty credits."
Kai was taken aback by the outrageous amount requested for such a small, basic piece of information.
Even Ray and Chloe shared in this profound disbelief.
The Tribrid’s eyes were even twitching as a surge of anger threatened to overwhelm his composure.
’How could he? Does he think money grows on trees? How dare he think he can scam u—’
"Sigh... alright." Kai shrugged indifferently and held out the back of his phone toward the man.
The shopkeeper eagerly lifted his watch, and with just a quick swipe of the phone above the man’s wrist, the transfer went through instantaneously.
"Now," Kai said, his voice dropping to a flat, expectant tone.
"The information?"