Chương 31: Photo

Ch 31 - Photo With the queen dead and the battle over, Alina dismissed the protective vines. The three young Awakeners hurried toward Junhao as he walked up to the headless monster's torso, plunged his hand into its chest, and pulled out its core.

"That was so cool, Mr. Chen!" Isabel exclaimed.

"No need to praise me. It'd be more embarrassing if I couldn't defeat monsters like these easily," Junhao replied. He then held out the core to Reid.

"Here. This is yours." Reid accepted the core and pulled out a clean handkerchief to wipe away the blood. It was much larger than the mutant's core and emitted a faint blue glow.

"Thank you," Reid said as he pocketed the material he needed for the cleansing ritual.

"No big deal. Anyway, let's get out of here," Junhao said. The group headed outside, retracing the path they had taken. As they walked, Reid channeled his Sacred Light to heal the three wounded Awakeners. It was the least he could do after having only stood by and watched for most of the mission. When they finally emerged from the nest, the sky was still dark, stars scattered across the vast expanse above them. Reid paused for a moment, appreciating it.

Unlike the Districts, with their heavy light pollution, it was nearly impossible to see the stars there. Inside the Tower, however, the night sky still shone clearly, though the constellations were unfamiliar, different from those on Earth. Reid made a mental note to bring Evan to the Tower at least once before his attention shifted to Junhao, who was whistling as he headed for the driver's seat. Before he could get in, Reid stepped in front of him and held out his hand.

"The keys." Junhao pouted.

"Come on, don't you trust me to drive back? I brought you guys here safely!" Reid offered a polite smile.

"You've worked hard killing the queen. Let me do something useful during this mission."

"But you have! You healed those kids!" Junhao said, waving at Karl, Aino, and Isabel.

"Not nearly enough compared to you, who cleaned out the nest," Reid said.

"So please." Junhao and Reid faced off for a long moment before the man let out a dramatic sigh and handed the keys to Reid. The others' tense expressions relaxed when they saw it. With Reid now behind the wheel, the journey back to the Floor 60 outpost was far less eventful, so much so that Karl, Aino, and Isabel fell asleep in the back.

"So what do you think, Alina? Do they pass the test?" Junhao asked, sitting in the front passenger seat.

"There are still things they can improve on," Alina said.

"The most egregious mistake was Ms. Fuentes damaging the mutant's core. Their tactics could also be refined to avoid unnecessary injuries. They took unnecessary risks simply because Mr. Whitfield was with us on this mission. That wouldn't be the case in a normal operation."

"Stop being so nitpicky. I think they did well," Junhao said.

"Those are minor mistakes. With a bit more experience, they'll grow into it."

"If you say so, Vice Guild Master," Alina replied. When the car rolled to a stop, Alina woke the sleeping Awakeners, and the group went to the Transfer Hall, where they teleported back to Floor 60. As Alina and her three charges left, Junhao turned to Reid.

"So what are you going to do next? Heading straight back to District 1? Or you could stay at the guild. We've got plenty of free rooms." Shaking his head, Reid said, "Thanks for the offer, but it's best for me to return soon. I can't miss my classes."

"A shame. It was nice hanging out with you," Junhao said.

"Let's meet again in the future." The two shook hands, and just as Junhao was about to turn and leave, Reid remembered something important.

"Junhao, can I ask you for a favor?" Junhao tilted his head.

"What favor?" Reid opened his bag and pulled out several sheets of glossy photo paper.

"My little brother and his friends are fans of yours. Would you mind giving me your autograph?"

"Sure!" With the ease of someone frequently asked for autographs, Junhao finished it with a flourish.

"Thank you," Reid said, placing the autographs into his bag.

"Though it's unfortunate I didn't encounter Ms. Blake at the guild so I could get hers too."

"Ah, Selena isn't at the Tower right now," Junhao said.

"But if you'd like, I can ask her to sign an autograph for you and mail it over. You live in the Central Awakener Academy's Student Residence, right?" Reid nodded.

"Great. Just give me your phone number and room, and I'll send them to you." Was Junhao trying to get his contact information? Reid supposed it didn't really matter. As a government employee, his contact details wouldn't be difficult for a major guild like Skybreak to obtain. With that in mind, he simply gave Junhao his number.

"Oh, since your brother is a fan, how about this?" Junhao pulled out his phone and opened the camera. He slung an arm over Reid's shoulder and held it out in front of them.

"Say cheese!" Trained by years of office work, Reid automatically smiled at the camera. The flash went off, capturing a photo of them together. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

"What are you doing?" Reid asked.

"Your brother is a fan of mine, right? He probably follows me on social media. Imagine how shocked and happy he'll be to see you in a photo with me. You can use this to brag to your little brother," Junhao said. Reid wasn't sure about that logic, but he didn't see any harm in the photo, so he let it be.

When Evan woke up that day, it wasn't because of his internal clock or his alarm. No, it was because someone was bombarding him with repeated calls, as if failing to reach him would bring about the end of the world. Had he forgotten to silence his phone last night? Evan wasn't sure. Either way, he just wanted the wretched thing to stop. He peeled open his crusty eyelids, grabbed his phone from the nightstand, and glared at the screen. It was Yuyan. Why the heck was she calling him this early?

Don't tell me it's another case like Marcus's cousin, where someone Yuyan knows got kidnapped. Accepting the call, Evan said, "He—""Evan!" Yuyan shouted. Evan pulled the phone away from his ear as it rang in protest.

"It's way too early for your screeching. Why are you awake so early… at eight on a Sunday?"

"Shut up, this is a perfectly reasonable time to be awake! Just because it's Sunday doesn't mean everyone sleeps in like you!" Yuyan said.

"And it's not like I'm calling you for no reason."

"What is it then?" Evan threw himself back onto his bed. Hearing Yuyan's tone wasn't distraught at all, it seemed there was no missing kid this time.

"Check out the link I sent you!" Despite his annoyance, Evan did as she asked and clicked the link. It led him to Viewpoint, straight to a new post by Yuyan's beloved S-rank Awakener, Junhao. For a second, Evan didn't know what he was seeing. There were two faces of handsome men on his phone. He blinked. One of them looked awfully familiar. Evan rubbed his eyes. It was still there. Then, as his half-asleep brain finally caught up, Yuyan shouted, "How the heck did your brother know Junhao?!

They even took a photo together! How?!" Too shocked to even admonish her for her volume, Evan could only stare at the post. The image caption read: "Hung out with a new friend today!" Scrolling through the comments, the post was filled with uproar.

"Who's that hottie?"

"Junhao?! Don't tell me you got a boyfriend!"

"Hold on, I think I know that face!"

"Two hot men! I've been blessed today!"

"Is that a new Skybreak Guild member?"

"WHO IS THAT???"

"Wait, is that really Junhao?"

"I'm not okay. I opened this app five seconds ago."

"Two hot men just casually ruining my day."

"Is this allowed?? Someone call management."

"Don't tell me this is a secret collab event??"

"I'm free for a threesome btw." Evan closed the app before the psychic damage could send him into a coma.

"So, anything you have to say?" Yuyan asked.

"What do you want me to say?" Evan ran a hand over his face. Of course Reid would end up meeting Junhao. With his protagonist halo, it was impossible for him not to run into big shots once he entered the Tower. Should he be glad it was just Junhao?

"My brother went into the Tower for a mission. They probably met there."

"Really? Give me more details! I need to know more!" Yuyan said, the sound of furious typing following.

"What are you doing?"

"Writing this down, what else? This is a hot scoop! I can post it on my Junhao fan website! So tell me more!"

"… Go ask my brother yourself," Evan said, turning off his phone and putting it on silent. Dropping it face down, he lay back down and closed his eyes. Nope. He wasn't dealing with this right now. Thanks to Reid's mission to the Tower, he'd miraculously been granted a training-free Sunday. Evan intended to make the most of the rare occasion by sleeping until his body forgot what exhaustion felt like. He dozed for several more hours before his brain finally decided he had slept enough.

When he checked his phone, he saw several missed calls from Yuyan, which he promptly ignored in favor of opening his messaging app to read messages from his brother. [I'm back from the Tower.] [The rest of the materials are easier to get, so we might be able to do the cleansing ritual tomorrow.] [Oh, I also got you the autographs. You can come to my room to get them.] Evan replied, [Why are you in a photo with Junhao?] He dropped his phone and went to the bathroom to wash up and brush his teeth.

After changing into a fresh set of clothes, he saw a new reply from his brother. [Junhao took it. I didn't see the harm.] [Junhao? Not Mr. Chen?] Evan asked. [He said he doesn't like formalities.] Evan snorted at that. Wearing his sneakers, he exited his room and walked to Reid's room. He knocked, and his brother quickly opened the door and let him in. Glancing at Reid's fresh-looking face, Evan asked, "When did you return?"

"Just before sunrise," Reid said.

"I got some sleep." That still wouldn't be a full night's sleep. If it were Evan in his place, he would be extremely cranky, and his face would already have the beginnings of dark eye bags. But Reid looked as well-kept as usual. Ugh, protagonist… Turning his attention to the table, he saw a shining orb sitting there alongside other items: a bag of shimmering powder, several mana stones, and a bottle of water. Picking up the bottle, he turned it in his hands. It seemed to be just ordinary water.

"What's this?"

"These are the materials for the cleansing ritual," Reid said. He pointed at the monster core.

"This will be the sacrificial vessel that absorbs the extracted demonic energy." He then gestured toward the mana stones.

"You should recognize these. They're just mana stones to help during the ritual." Finally, he picked up the bag of shimmering powder.

"I'll use this mana dust to draw the cleansing ritual circle."

"And this?" Evan asked, already knowing what it was supposed to be.

"It's meant to be holy water, but it hasn't been blessed yet," Reid said.

"I still need to cleanse the monster core. I'm just waiting for the incense to arrive."

"So with these, we can remove the demonic energy from Hiroto?" Evan asked. Reid nodded.

"Yes, but have you talked to him about this? We'll need his cooperation for it to work." Evan pursed his lips. He had been trying to find a way to bring it up, but every time the opportunity came, he struggled to begin. How was he supposed to convince Hiroto that his F-rank and mana issues might be caused by demonic energy? It wasn't as though the existence of demons was even known to the people of Earth.

"I haven't yet, but I'll try to talk to him soon," Evan said. Smiling, Reid patted Evan's head, then went to his bag and pulled out three pieces of glossy photo paper.

"Here's the autograph you wanted." Evan took the papers and saw that they were Junhao's autographs.

"Why are there three?"

"One is for you, and the other two are for your friends," Reid said.

"Ah, Junhao also promised to send Ms. Blake's autograph later, so you should wait until it arrives before giving the autographs to them." Evan's eye twitched.

"I said I'm not Junhao's fan!"