Chapter 145: Next Day Discuss
———Lynda———
<10: 19 am>
“How are they even making this corridor even… like this?” I asked in disbelief. In fact, can this even be called a corridor anymore? What in the world am I looking at? “Why does this look like we’re in a different world entirely? There’s no way the underground can cover so much space.”
“How the heck should I know? By the time I woke up, it’s already like this! Just like last time!” Fiss said, making her frustration clear. Seriously though, what in the world are they doing down here? What kind of sorcery are they using to make this place expand far more than they should? Now it looks even more like the above ground.
One thing that seems to give a hint as to how they’re doing it is how the doors into the room of the residents here are still in the same position, only now only a small portion of the wall surrounding it is actually visible and tangible, just a bit away from the walls and it dissipates into pixels, and walking past it led to the larger virtual area, as one may call it.
It’s weird, like the walls are all almost gone with only a small portion around the doors even tangible. They have clearly been working on something really crazy. In fact, whatever they do in here is way above the feats of… pretty much anyone ever. This is legit some fantasy sci-fi shit that is so ridiculous it ended up making it feel like the world’s law is held together by duct tape and glue. At this point it’s probably better to ask what CAN’T they do, and more importantly why haven’t they taken over the world yet, and only think about just creating a very nice school.
It’s actually kinda crazy that there is no clue on who this shadowy person behind the scenes of the school is. There’s no way it’s actually one of the members of the school that we publicly know, right? There’s so much weird stuff going on with them, so it’s not out of the question…
“...Something wrong?” Fiss suddenly asked. How long was I pondering for her to suddenly speak up like that?
“Not much. Just that it feels like whoever is in charge of the school seems to have some sort of reality-altering shit. It’s pretty spooky if you asked me.” Since nothing really happened to any of us we can at least say that they don’t really mean any harm, but it is still disturbing to think of all kinds of things this being is capable of, or able to command others to do.
“I guess that’s a fair thing to mulled over.” She said while looking at all the odd imagery that can be seen near the horizon… The fact that there’s something like that here is already absurd. There are a bunch of biomes that we can see from where we are at, there are different elevations, and a really convincing skybox. Unless you are looking at all of this under the microscope there’s no way you know it’s supposed to be some sort of weird simulation. Seriously though, can it even really be called that at this point? We’re underground, not in a different world! And neither of us even reach one end of the area yet. Who knows how long this will go on for? Is there even an end? So many damn questions!
“Let’s… I don’t know. I don’t really feel like trying to see if there’s an end to this or not. Bet you don’t wanna do that either.” I have something I need to do in the afternoon as well. Can’t allow myself to get too worked up over this and wasting too much time.
———Orrel———
<11: 54 am>
“Despite being a term that isn’t completely accurate, it stuck with the public and used to categorize just about anyone who is so powerful and struck so much fear in the hearts of those who crossed them. Certainly, some of them do try to leverage their greater level of power for influence, but most of what people called ‘warlords’ are more so based on the lack of restraint in using their power alongside the level of power they have. There isn’t any deeper meaning beyond that.” I explained in full. It is a different use of that word than normal, but using a catchy word to describe something that is only vaguely related is not uncommon. It’s just how people usually operate. Sometimes the most accurate definition isn’t the one that resonates with the majority of the people.
“To add to that. People are still debating about who should be in that category. A fool’s errand, really. They are all murderers, that’s all there is to it. Killing and pillaging, sometimes worse. Not really worth arguing for a special title.” Gregori chimed in. Indeed, glorifying those evildoers in any way shouldn’t be encouraged, let alone even discussing it like this.
“...Makes me really regret not caving that guy’s head in when I got the chance.” Qyunda remarked. It’s simply the matter of hindsight, she had no way of being certain that her foe would be someone so dangerous and irredeemable. “Is it true that some people called Wiina a warlord? That sounds so damn ridiculous I can’t help but laugh.”
“It happened. Just the sort of dumb discussion that seems to be more common nowadays.” Gregori said while scratching his head. Meanwhile Jeff doesn’t seem too interested in the conversation as he scarfed down the fries.
“I’d imagine that she would be downright offended if she knew she was compared to them. Not like we knew a whole lot about her ourselves, but she definitely blew them out of the park by yesterday’s action alone, and definitely isn’t a bad guy.” Useph chimed in. Indeed, none of the others have even managed to get close to overthrowing the current regime in any way. In the local town or city, perhaps, but not quite on the big stage itself. It’s why the term warlord is still quite a misnomer for the majority that has been officially categorized as such.
“That is such a weird hill to die on.” Malk pointed out.
“Yeah, and certainly not that interesting of a topic. She isn’t one, and that’s that.” Qyunda confidently said. “...On the topic of Wiina though. It turns out that she was the one who attacked the area around the White House for whatever reason. There hadn’t been any other official statements on the matter. Does anyone here actually dig something up?”
“There are rumors that the attack was due to her being provoked somehow. The leading rumor is that they planned a meeting with a lot of stronger fighters from around the states and she caught wind of it so she ambushed them. Got the intel from smaller news channels and other online users.” Gregori submitted his findings. “If it was meant to be some sort of conspiracy started by the government it would explain why no official channels get any intel from them. They’re trying to cover up how they’re the one who started it. Ain’t that just typical.”
“Are those guys who were gathered up… still in the area? I feel like whatever they used to travel is either trashed or being used for other stuff right now.” Useph asked.
“Since that part of the story doesn’t seem to be obfuscated, yeah, a lot of them are still in that area, probably wanting some answers and compensations for the chaos that happened when they should be in full control of the situation. They might be stuck in Washington for a few days, even.” Gregori answered. Probably quite a terrible experience, and I doubt they were informed of everything right off the bat. The reports show a large number of people being involved, no way they will disclose everything when there is always a possibility of the story leaking out through someone having loose lips.
“Can’t see that going smoothly at all. It’d be a miracle if nothing bad happens afterward.” Qyunda remarked. It is certainly not a story with a very good outlook for all involved, except for Wiina who seems to have gotten away with it completely unscathed.
“Guess we can only really wish them good luck and nothing else. Unless someone here want to fly there to mediate the situation.” Gregori said before very unsubtly stared at Jennla who had been quiet this whole time much like Jeff, albeit with more table manners.
“...I am not such a charity case.” She replied before going back to eating.
“Guess they are out of luck then. I doubt Wiina would want to help those who are roped into conspiring against her, and Kenni would probably make the situation worse, if we’re being real with ourselves here.” That is probably the general sentiment in regards to the people we knew might be able to insert themselves into the situation, at least the ones we are familiar with and had seen in action. There are also Rico, Elrik, Wana, and the others in the school who should be able to travel to Washington in no time and possibly try to figure out everything that has happened there, but we really don’t know who would even have the motivation to do more than simply snooping around and get a scoop of a lifetime.
As it stands there isn’t a lot that we can really do or say about what feels like a rather monumental event in the making.
“I’ll go order a few more burgers.” Jennla said before walking to the counter.
“Hey, wait! Order more fries as well!” Jeff said before walking after her.
“...Did those two even hear most of the conversation?” Qyunda asked, looking rather befuddled.
“Meh, it doesn’t really matter that much. Jeff was never the one for wise words, and with Jennla…” Gregori’s expression became complicated once her name came up. “...I’d rather not make her think too hard on what could possibly be a very heavy topic in the future. You see how she is, not exactly back to her normal self. Better to give her more time to herself.”
Everyone else nodded while the two came back, unaware of what was just said.
“...Is it just me or does it feel like people aren’t talking about the attack as much as they should have. It is a very important building of the United States being damaged and all that.” Qyunda pointed out, moving away from the topic of our classmate who had clearly been through quite a lot.
“Probably because a lot of people are still more concerned about staying alive. Unrest in other parts of the US hadn’t really subsided much. There aren’t a lot of people that are called warlords or any other name being identified and talked about in the US, but that doesn’t mean there aren't a lot of crimes happening.” Gregori remarked with a somewhat tired tone. “I’d imagine that they are all so stressed out that they don’t even want to think about one of the symbols of the nation being at risk.”
“...The White House wasn’t even that badly damaged, yet it feels like it’s the only thing people who had time to look it up are actually talking about.” I expressed my feelings on the matter. They’re looking at quite the wrong thing. The idea of conspiracy from the top and the retribution they bring to themselves is more interesting and probably something much more important to consider.
“I mean it makes sense why it is so emphasized. That kind of headline is an easy hook for any potential readers. You’d have to be crazy to not at least put in that keyword. It’s not everyday you get to put in a headline involving the White House that isn’t just people in charge putting out unnecessary bills.” Gregori pointed out. I get that much, but it is still rather disappointing. It’s not like the main event that wasn’t put in the headline isn’t eye-catching in its own right. Perhaps if these news outlets aren’t so afraid of the people at the top, maybe the content of those articles would’ve been a little different and we get to see something more inflammatory.
“Say, Orrel. Aren’t you going to order more food? I can order it for you if you want.” Useph suddenly asked. I guess I was talking a bit too much there. I didn’t really partake in that much food despite it being on his tab like always, so I don’t need to think about being frugal.
“...I guess I could go for another chicken sandwich, and hashbrows.” I don’t really feel too hungry today, and I still feel rather apprehensive about exploiting his charity, even if his parents are in the one percent and he probably wouldn’t be strapped for cash even in the uncertain future.
“Alright then, I’ll go order more for the both of us then.” Useph said before walking to the counter.
“...Are we just gonna cycle people in and out?” Jeff said with a small chuckle.
“As if we ever did anything with such a rigid cycle.” Qyunda said with a sneer.
“True, that sounds absolutely terrible.” Jeff replied with a smile before leaning back a bit. “Last thing we need is some very strict and dumb schedules. Feels like the world would be a better place if we just work on things through good vibes than logic.”
“I… wouldn’t go that far, personally.” There is merit in the freeform approach, but something simply just doesn’t work well under that system.
…
“...So nothing crazy is gonna happen while we’re chatting like last time, right?” Gregori suddenly asked while sounding slightly nervous.
“I doubt that’s going to happen twice in the row, and if we think about it, it’s Emmie and Kenni that turn it into such a spectacle in the first place.” I pointed out. We are barely involved at all, ultimately speaking.
“...Speaking of those two, what do you think they are doing right now?” Qyunda said. When it comes to those two wildcards, anything could really happen. It’s probably something violent, more than likely…