15 Clash With The Special Force (1)

"Where are you hiding, Mr Nishimiya..." Zaen mumbled.

Even though the night was ruling the skies above, the streets of Lizan were flooded with light and people. Lizan was also known as the city which never slept. And rightfully so.

Just like Zaen, Lizan housed several people who loved the nights. The streets might not be as crowded as they were during the day, still, a lot of faces could be seen roaming around and having a good time. Zaen was walking on one such crowded road, surrounded by people yet no one could see him. He was hidden from them thanks to his mask.

But hiding didn't make his life easy. It was harder to look for clues in a crowded place, let alone when you had to be careful not to attract unnecessary attention. Also, he was also worried that Mr Nishimiya would harm someone while he was wasting his time looking for clues.

Also, being invisible was a pain in the butt. He had been frequently bumping into quite a few people but when they turned around to apologize or curse at him, they looked right through him. The mask has concealed his presence entirely. However, it was just the beginning.

A few minutes later, he barely managed to dodge a bike that was about to run him over. After that close shave, Zaen decided it would be better to take the mask off and then continue looking for anything suspicious.

All of a sudden he saw soldiers from the special force standing in some distance. They were randomly stopping the people and asking them if they had seen anything suspicious around that area. This was unlike anything he had seen the soldiers do before. Even during a patrol, the soldiers rarely interacted with anyone else and when they did it was to harass innocent and powerless civilians. This was also one of the reasons why everyone hated them so much and made fun of them.

Still, seeing the soldiers there left a bad taste in Zaen's mouth. He wasn't sure but he thought the soldiers and him were there for the same reason.

"Either they are here to kill Mr Nishimiya like me, or they are here to capture him..." Zaen mumbled before pulling his hoodie to cover his face, "By the gears, they are carrying, I think it's for the latter. Maybe they want to capture him to study about ghouls? That made some sense. But how did they even know that Nishimiya was here? Their presence can't be a mere coincidence..."

Even Zaen only got to know about the location because of the map he was provided with. If it hadn't been for that, he would still be cluelessly roaming around the streets till sunrise. He couldn't point it out but something was telling him that the special force was involved much deeper in this ghoulish business than they'd like the civilians to know.

"Excuse me, Sir? Do you have a minute to spare for the safety of Lizan?"

Just when Zaen thought he made it past the officers, he heard a feminine voice call for him to stop.

'Fck my luck...' He sighed heavily as he turned around, 'I should've used the mask beforehand... Whoa... she's cute.'

Zaen was used to chatting up with girls online to increase his clout. But the truth was, he was a bit shy around them in real life. So far only two women were involved in his life, his mom and Mr Nishimiya's daughter, who broke up with him the day he left for military school. Ever since then, he had never been in any kind of relationship with a girl. But that didn't stop him from admiring someone's beauty and the girl in front of him was just... wow.

She was around 5'9" tall. Her bronze skin looked vibrant thanks to the well-lit street. Her emerald green eyes were enough to mesmerize any man. She wore her short brown hair in a tight bun as it was required by the protocol. Even her blue uniform couldn't conceal her finely built body, which was neither too masculine, nor too feminine. If it was up to Zaen, he would've defined her as a curvaceous woman.

Zaen got a bit too drawn into her beauty and failed to answer her question. He was too busy smiling at her.

"Uh... sir?" The girl snapped her fingers to get Zaen's attention.

"Oh, um... yeah. You were asking something?" Zaen smiled awkwardly while scratching the back of his head.

"No problem sir. I was just wondering if you have seen anything suspicious around this area?"

"Can't say I have Miss...Miranda Lopez." Zaen replied after reading her name from the badge she was wearing, "Do you mind if I-"

"Holy crap! That's Zaen Sapphir- Sapphiro- damn it!" The obese male officer standing next to Miranda pointed at Zaen with his hamburger, "Whatever, It's him. The most popular online streamer according to the top 9 gaming magazines! I'm a huge fan, your gameplay of World of battlecraft was amazing. I just loved-"

"For God's sake, Hugo! Go and finish what's in your mouth before speaking!" Miranda slapped Hugo at the back of his head, "I sincerely apologize for my colleague's rudeness."

"Ouch!" Hugo blurted out as his hamburger fell from his hands and on the ground. He soon fell on his knees mourning for the loss of his double cheese jumbo combo hamburger.

"No need to apologize. It's completely fine." Zaen replied waving his hands, "As I was asking before, what's the special force doing around here? I mean everyone who disappeared is already back, right?"

"I understand what you're saying. But just because they are back doesn't mean the mist is gone as well." Miranda replied, "Either way, thanks for your time sir and... um... would you mind if I take a selfie with you? I kinda like you- I mean like your gameplays! Yeah, gameplays."

"Um... sure." Zaen agreed to get clicked when another man dressed in the special force uniform approached him.

The black-skinned man was more muscular than Zaen, but he was a bit short, around 5'10". His square jaw looked as if his face overrun be a road-roller. Also, when he smiled, he revealed the most disgusting smelly breath to have ever existed in the history of mankind. After looking at the man, even cavemen would've looked like a supermodel. To Zaen's dismay, this man was someone he knew and hate. His middle school bully, Marcus Vane.

"Still lurking around women, I see." Marcus smiled unleashing his most deadly weapon, his smelly breath.

Zaen quickly covered his nose before replying, "And I see your breath is as bad as ever."

Marcus' face turned red in embarrassment and he quickly closed his mouth, "You wanna get jailed, punk?"

"Some people never change." Zaen sighed before turning towards Miranda who was covering her face with a handkerchief, "Can I leave if we're all done here? I don't wanna take too long with my walk if you don't mind."

"Uh... yeah we're all done here. Thanks for your support in maintaining peace in the city."

"Don't mention it," Zaen mumbled once again pulling his hoodie on before disappearing within the crowd.