Chapter 11

We walked for a while. It was painful, and I couldn't take it anymore. The pain didn't come from any of my legs. No, the pain didn't come from the shoulder, carrying a large bag either. The pain came from the annoying girl that was walking behind me. The new one.

"So, Jurian, how long is it till we can rest again?" Linda asked as she was panting.

I stayed silent. I have no intention of answering a question as stupid as this. It's been how long? 1 hour or maybe a bit more than that, but she was already tired of walking. This is why I didn't want to bring her. I knew she would cause some kinds of problems.

As useless as they were, Aria and Dana never complained this many times, ever.

"About seven more hours, then we will find a place to eat and sleep," Aria said.

"Seven hours?" Linda grimaced, "Are we not gonna have lunch?"

"Lunch?" Aria was surprised. "We never have lunch when traveling. Might eat something while walking, if there is a need for that."

"Yes, don't worry, we will rest for a long time after we find a place to pass the night," Dana said.

"What? No!" Linda almost screamed.

"Shut up!" I turned back at her, "Do you want the demons to notice us? I will not spare even a minute if any demon abducts any of you." I had a very annoyed and stern face, "Linda, I never asked for you to come with us. We didn't come that far; if you truly cannot continue, go back."

She shut herself up and looked down. I started walking again. Damn these girls and my luck to be stuck with them.

We were walking in the streets. Avoiding the cars took a lot of time. Seeing that demons can be active at day, I am more convinced to walk in the middle of the street rather than the side. The cars provided enough cover and distance to respond immediately.

The streets were not that wide. We were on the outskirts of the city, almost out of it. I looked back again at the center. It felt like that thing was staring at me. I wouldn't say I liked the feeling of being watched by a being that can tear me apart anytime it wants. My legs were happy to walk towards the exit of the city. By tomorrow we will cross the river and out of the city.

I thought about the system for a while. Grandma Martha had a remarkable ability to peer into the future for bits and pieces. I wonder if she is also a program of the system.

"Hello system, is grandma Martha also a Program?" I asked in my head.

"Negative, surviving the purple mist after inhaling it for a long time will increase the speed of human evolution. Depending on what a person wants deep down or what their fear is, they will have a chance to develop a power which was previously impossible for humans on this world."

Ohh, that's a lot to take in. What? Surviving the purple mist. Does that mean I get the system powers that are almost game-like because I, deep down, wanted to make my life as a game? I never knew I wanted anything like that.

"Did I receive the system because deep down, I wanted to have this power?"

"The system admin selected negative, Program E192 after completing the secret quest which was assigned to you."

Ohh, does that mean I still haven't developed any special evolutionary powers?

"System, do I also have the chance to develop new powers like grandma Martha?"

"The probability of having evolutionary changes is same for everyone, and Program E192 also has the chances same as everyone else who survived the Purple Mist. But if Program E192 is interested, he can copy the abilities of Martha Falls if he wishes. But it will require leveling up to be used properly."

What? So I can copy grandma Martha's skill? Seeing the future will indeed be excellent.

"Copy grandma Martha's skill." I gave a command.

"New skill < Clairvoyance > Acquired."

"Use skill < Clairvoyance > to see the future."

"Error, program E192 does not have enough levels to see into the future. The options:

1. Peer into the present. (Available)

2. Peer into the past. (Locked)

3. Peer into the future. (Locked)"

I was stupefied. What good will the 'Peer into the present' do for me? I needed to see into the future. But at least I can try for once.

"System, use skill < Clairvoyance > for peering into the present." as soon as I finished the command, suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my head, and I could feel my body falling into the street before I could not remember anything else.

I was standing in a dark place. Soon the area became red. Soon I could see where I was standing. It was bloody. There were corpses everywhere. Old corpses, but the blood looked fresh. The corpses were mostly uniformed. The marine! They died horribly. There were guns and other kinds of weapons littered all over the place. The ground was scarred at a few places, most probably due to explosions. Then I heard a gunshot. Then a few more. Then a lot more. It was as if a group of soldiers was shooting at something.

I tried to walk carefully towards the direction from the sound of gunshots coming from. Soon I realized I wasn't walking. Then I remembered I wasn't supposed to be here. I was in the street with Dana, Aria, and Linda. I was slightly panicked. I don't know what was happening to me.

"Hahahaha, so the little rat came to have a look." the voice came from everywhere. "Aren't you supposed to take care of that pathetic group of yours? I hope you can listen to me and give me a reply. You never did before."

I stayed silent. Whoever was the owner of the deep and heavy voice wasn't talking about me. Most probably, he meant grandma Martha.

"I can sense you are scared. Like you are always." The voice sounded neared but still came from all the directions. I tried to move. I was floating and moving at an astonishing speed towards the place where there were gunshots. Soon I was out of the place, like a shopping mall. Now I was in the main street.

"Why run away?" The voice again came from every direction. Then I could see from the cover of cars that a few marine soldiers were firing one or two rounds at the building I had just come out of.

I looked back, and black tentacle-like things were coming out of there and from time to time trying to whip at the cars. There were a few hits, but there were also times when it was hit with bullets and was blasted away in pieces. But then it was healed and came to strike again.

"As you can see, I am a bit busy. I will come to find you soon. A soul as powerful as yours, I will enjoy it in my mouth before swallowing it. I will enjoy your agony!" Then the voice laughed. "Now leave!" It sounded like an order that I could not defy. I turned back, and a wave of black light hit me hard.