Let's go for a second round

The sun slowly disappeared on the horizon and the moon took its place. It was time for us to return. Our vacation time had come to an end.

We slowly began to pack our things. None of us wanted to leave and go back to school, but we had no other choice. But I was also looking forward to seeing Hoyo again. So I was kind of excited.

We had been together as long as I can remember. They lived in the house next to us. We spent all day together, playing, eating, and sleeping. In general, she was the sister I never had.

And even though she was not my real sister, she was one of the most important people in my life. She could keep up with my relationship with my father.

But then one day she was suddenly gone. Even now, I do not know why she left in such a hurry. As much as I asked my mother, she never told me the reason.

But this time I'll find out the truth, even if she does not want me to know.

"Hey Shinji, come on board. The bus will leave in five minutes." said Miko.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I did not even notice that everyone had boarded the bus and I was alone about fifty meters away from the vehicle.

"Yeah, I am coming."

Miko was apparently exhausted, because after a while she leaned against my right shoulder and fell asleep.

She's so cute, even when she's sleeping. I do not even know why I was like that when I first met her. Not only did she not stop loving me, but she kept trying.

"I am glad I have you as my girlfriend." I whispered, patting Miko on the head. And at the edge of my eye, I saw her smile a little.

When we arrived back in NeonDown, we got off the bus and gathered in a small park. Miko suggested that we go to a restaurant to close the chapter of the trip.

But as much as I wanted to go, I had to gently decline because I had to pick up my cousin.

I waved to them and made my way to the train station.

It was not too far from my current location, about a ten minute walk.

As I walked through the streets, I remembered why my hometown is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

From the small houses to the huge skyscrapers, they were all blended with nature.

Our city was a 'green city' so in general every building was one with nature.

From flowers, grass, vines to trees on the roofs and small artificial rivers all over the city. Some of these rivers started from some big skyscrapers, from which the water fell like a waterfall into small canals on the ground.

But the jewel of our city was the central power plant.

The building was two to three times taller than the skyscrapers and as wide as a soccer stadium.

Its walls were made of white concrete and glass. On top of each concrete block was a grass block.

You could not see the concrete at all. Almost the entire building was covered with grass.

A little below the roof was a huge nest for all kinds of birds. The nest was a huge sphere with many hexagonal holes and inside there was a whole ecosystem that resembled a jungle.

On the roof of the building there was also a whole new biome with many different species of animals and a huge oasis in the middle.

The oasis stretched out on four sides, forming four rivers whose waters fell into the moat that surrounded the power plant.

And, of course, the most important part of the building: the LYNX reactor in the center of the plant, which supplied electricity to the whole city.

The reactor was in the shape of a cube, about 8 meters wide on each side, and hovered between two pyramids, one above and one below, as it spun at very high speed.

The outside of the building at this location was made of glass so that people could see the reactor.

There was also a force field around the power plant that could withstand even a nuclear explosion to protect the reactor, as it was the only one of its kind in the whole world.

In general, our city looked like most post-apocalyptic cities.

And how do I know this?

My mother had taken me on a tour of the power plant. I do not know how she succeeded in persuading these people into letting us go there, but I guess she really went out of her way.

She did this shortly after my father's 'death' was announced because she wanted me to forget that incident.

And she actually succeeded, at least for a while...

Anyway, enough of the flashback. Where is the train? It's already 9:33. And this thing is never late. I learned that the hard way.

Suddenly, the big screen in the middle of the station, which had been displaying train schedules all along, switched to one of the country's TV channels, while the words 'emergency news' popped up on the screen.

"Hello ladies and gentlemen, we are live just outside the city where a robbery is in progress on the Aurora G1, the fastest train in the city. The police have stopped the train and are trying to negotiate with the robbers for the release of the hostages.Moreover, the robbers plan to blow up the train if their demands are not met within two hours. For the moment, fortunately, there are no victims. We will return with more information about the situation."

Immediately after the message, everyone stared at each other and started calling their relatives shortly after.

My phone rang as well. It was Miko.

"Shinji! Did you see the news?"

"Yes, I just saw it."

"Has your cousin arrived?"

"No..."

"Don't tell me... don't tell me she's on the train?!"

"Aaah yes, she's on the train."

"Oh my God, what are you going to do now?"

"You'll see on the next news report."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You'll see. Anyway, I have got to go, see you later," I said, flipping the phone closed.

Well then, off for a second round.

I started walking towards my house. I did not have much time. I wanted to finish quickly.

It took me twenty minutes to arrive home. My mother had to supervise a surgery, so she will not be back anytime soon. I have as much time as I want.

I was in a hurry and went to my room. I put on the dive gear and opened the simulation again.

I was summoned again to the same place. But now I already knew what I had to do, so I did the scan and immediately went to the terminal.

"Shinji. What do you want to do this time?" said Eyva as she appeared behind me.

"I'll choose the 'silent assassin' and the 'ultimate driver'."

"With two trainings at once, the risk of brain failure is 20%."

"I do not care about that. Just start the training."

"Lowering the chance of brain failure from 20% to 5%. The estimated time is increased to thirty minutes. Does Shinji agree to that?"

"Uh, yes, I accept. Let us get started."

"Changing the variables... Completed. The portal opens in 3, 2, 1. Initiating rift."

The portal reappeared in front of me.

"Alright, let us finish this quickly."