Chapter 200: Unveiling the Truth
The living room was suffocating, the quiet weighing on us like a thick shroud. Camille’s fingers danced over her laptop’s keys, her motions exact, yet the atmosphere in the room was heavy with untold reflections. The screens’ light brightened our faces while we gathered closely in a circle, still processing the aftermath of the livestream. Outside, the world was on fire both literally and metaphorically. Our reality, my reality, was now in the possession of millions, and the responses were flooding in every second.
I reclined on the couch, my body sore from the battle, the tension, and the turmoil of the previous hours. The gravity of what had just occurred was sinking in, yet I still couldn’t release the pressure in my chest. I revealed the reality. I had announced it publicly. But what was the significance of it all now? The timer on Camille’s laptop blinked in the backdrop while she reviewed the comments coming in rapidly.
"So," Alexis said, breaking the silence with a sharp edge to her voice. "That’s it then. You’ve really gone and done it, Rey. You’ve put the world on notice. Now what?"
I rubbed my eyes, the exhaustion catching up to me. "Now we wait," I muttered. "For the fallout."
Alexis sat on the edge of the chair, arms crossed tightly, her face unreadable. "I’m not so sure this is the moment for waiting, Rey. Did you really think challenging the World President, going after the highest power in the world, was a good idea?"
I didn’t answer immediately, my mind wandering to the last subject in the NovaCore report, Subject 3840, Jobmaster. The realization had hit me like a ton of bricks during the livestream, when I read the part about Jobmaster. My job title was Jobmaster too just like the one in the report. Except I was SSS-Rank, and this other subject was... just another test subject. A failed experiment. I shook my head, forcing the thought out. I couldn’t focus on that now. I had bigger problems.
"It’s not about whether it’s a good idea or not," I said, looking up at Alexis. "It’s about doing what was right. Exposing the truth. They’ve been hiding everything from us, manipulating us for years. If I didn’t do it now, when would we ever have a chance?"
Alexis ran a hand through her hair, looking less than convinced. "So you think the whole world was ready for this? You think the governments who’ve been in power for centuries will just sit back and let you tear everything apart? Do you realize what you’ve just done? You’ve made yourself a target for the most powerful people in the world."
"You know that already, right?" Camille said from behind her laptop, not looking up as she spoke. "You’re not just an enemy to the World President anymore. You’ve become a symbol. A revolutionary. A martyr-in-the-making. You’ve exposed everything, Rey. It’s no longer just about them... it’s about how the world sees you. And right now? The world sees a mess."