Chapter 490: Ceremony? (3)
Chapter 488
Kicking off his shoes, Ray jumped onto the bed with a wide grin on his face as he stared lovingly at the smartphone in his hand.
He didn’t care much about the Vanguard’s fancy features.
He finally owned a phone.
In a world where only the rich could afford to have a phone while those who couldn’t had to use smartwatches with limited features instead, Ray had watched the adults around him all his life barely have access to such a luxury.
In his house, it was only his father who owned a phone before he was killed in the war.
The other adults in Wall Rose barely had enough to keep themselves going, let alone getting a smartwatch, much less a phone.
So aside from his father and maybe some mildly rich people in the Wall, he was the next person to own a phone.
His excitement was palpable as he sat cross-legged on the bed while surfing through the phone.
Swiping in and out of apps, he landed on a bank app, and there, he saw his account was connected to the one he had always used.
Previously, he had about 3K credits in his account.
But now, his eyes widened as he saw the amount sitting in his account.
A whopping 6K credits were in his account?!
"The fuck?!"
On cue, his phone vibrated, and a number appeared on the screen with the name ’Captain’ on it.
Clicking the green icon, he heard Raze yawn before speaking.
"Right, I forgot to inform you and your friends that as Vanguard members, you will be paid 5K credits every week. The three thousand in your account is a welcome bonus."
"Weekly?"
"Yes. In our line of duty, where you could die at any moment, how can we pay monthly? When we don’t know if we would live past that week. So yeah, a weekly pay. If you manage to rise up the ranks, your pay will increase too."
Ray’s heart began thumping excitedly as he replayed everything the Captain had just said.
"Why do I feel like I’m forgetting something...?" Raze mused on the call while tapping his finger on the table.
"... Oh yeah. You will be given your ear comm device tomorrow after the ceremony, which will be connected to the control tower at the Aspirant Corps.
"For all our missions here at Alcatraz, we are connected to Mina there. Your phone helps largely to connect with other Vanguards, but the comm is for your squad alone.
"Unless we are out with multiple squads, that is. And also, the layout of the base is on an app in your phone. So have fun."
And then, the call ended abruptly.
Ray slowly peeled the phone from his ear before staring at the blank screen for several seconds.
Everything Raze had said didn’t really register in his mind aside from one thing.
"... Our pay is weekly. You will be paid five thousand credits every week."
The words kept repeating in his head over and over again until his face curled into a wide-ass grin, with his lips almost touching the corners of his eyes.
"MUM! I’M RICH!" he screamed loudly.
Ray jumped out of bed and, without thinking twice, began dancing around the room with a smug smile of excitement.
His moves were slick, seamless, and fluid, with his hands flaring in the air.
Clapping a few times while moving his head and legs, he danced for several minutes until his legs began to ache a bit.
Finally, he came to a stop before crashing into a small couch on the side of the room.
"Haaa.... Haaa..."
He panted while droplets of sweat slid down the side of his head as he fixed his gaze on the ceiling above.
Still staring at his screen while huffing, his face suddenly darkened.
A sense of sadness overcame him instantly.
"If only you were here to witness this, Mum. I-I made it into the Vanguard like I said I would."
His gaze hardened, and so did the hand resting on the arm of the couch.
He ground his teeth a few times as tears glistened in his eyes.
"I-I always knew the Vanguard were paid well, and I wanted to join so I could elevate our family from Wall Rose to Wall Steel. I-I-I accomplished that, but you and Sis aren’t here to witness it."
A tear slid down his cheek as he balled the hand that wasn’t holding his precious phone into a fist.
"I promise, I will find the Aberrant that crushed you and crush it back as revenge. Then I will go on and wipe out the remaining Aberrants—their leaders, their powerful figures. Every single one of them."
His voice trembled slightly.
"I will wipe out the Aberrants from this world. I promise."
Wiping his face with the back of his hand, Ray stood up from the couch and sauntered towards the bed again.
His gaze flickered towards his account balance once more, and a sense of accomplishment filled him.
From a boy who worked his ass off at a very young age for just five credits every day for years, all so he could afford a dusty ability book...
To an Aspirant who received ten credits daily...
And now, to an official Vanguard member who was set to earn five thousand credits every week.
...As long as he was alive, though.
His lips slowly curved upward as he set his phone aside. He then picked up the note attached to the uniform lying on the bed.
He read:
"This is your official uniform. The exo-suit is stretchable to accommodate any form of transformation. Your wardrobe is filled with extra pairs of uniforms and a few casual wears to go.
As a Vanguard member, you have to look fly at all times. Can’t afford to lose aura."
Ray blinked confusedly.
"Did Captain Raze actually write this? I really doubt so because he doesn’t strike me as such. Could be another person..."
Tossing the note to the side, he picked up the uniform and admired it for a moment before looking towards the bathroom door.
"Let’s test it out," he muttered and walked towards the bathroom.