Are you... really a ghost?

"Huh? What video?" Alice asked but Mark took that as his cue to shut his mouth.

He picked up the tray and headed for the door.

"Since you are a special case, I will make sure to serve your food on time." He said and she subconsciously said with a salivating mouth.

"Could you double the amount next time? I want more fried chicken." She said but shook her head to snap out of it. "No, that's not it. You still haven't answered my question."

Mark has already walked out and closed the bars, setting up the protection and causing Alice's vision of anyone outside the bar to fade.

"Seriously? Are you going to ignore my question like that?" She asked. "You're the one who brought up a video. Won't you at least explain what that video contains so I can tell you guys to your faces that you're completely mistaken about me?" She asked but he kept silent.

It looked like he had left but she could tell he was still there through his presence that she could somehow sense.

"Dammit, don't keep me quiet. I can tell you're still there." She said.

"And you still claim you're not an awakened." He said and this got on Alice's nerves.

"The fuck! What's that supposed to mean?"

Once again, Mark ignored her question and stated,

"I'll come back later to get you. You'll be interrogated starting today." He said and started leaving.

"Gosh, that guy. Doesn't he have the courtesy of answering a little lady's question at least?" She muttered and clicked her tongue."Tsk, and to think we were getting close. Upright bastards like that just can't be trusted."

She went back to the couch in front of the TV and sighed, brushing the back of her neck.

"It sucks not knowing what's going on." She said. "I feel so shitty not knowing what they do. If only that guy were here." She was referring to the guy who talked to her as soon as she woke up.

Even though he sounded shrewd, he was still a lot friendlier than the lots that were around her.

'Did he also get deployed to raid the dungeons?' She wondered and sighed. She didn't know anything about him but it looked like he knew a ton shit about her.

She turned on the TV and watched the news. Just as Mark said there were multiple gates around the ends of the city. It was spreading panic in the hearts of the people, especially people who lived close to the gates.

A full-on evacuation had ensued for safety measures. If ever the awakeneds were to fail in their raid, the monsters would troupe out and destroy everything in their paths.

Lives would be lost and homes, destroyed.

"Sure sucks to be one of them right now." She muttered as she watched lazily.

*Tell me about it*

She heard the whisper and her eyes widened. She looked around. There was no one. Like before, she was alone and there was no one whispering in her ear.

So, why did it feel like someone was sitting next to her, watching the news with her, and responding to her remark?

It was weird and spooky.

"Shit, was that gem a ghost artifact or something?" She wondered out loud.

After all, it all started going haywire after she picked it up and it disappeared.

It helped when she was fighting against Justin, the fire user awakened. But the words were short and like whispers that made her believe there was a ghost.

She couldn't even tell if it was a male voice or female.

"Are you...really a ghost?" She found herself asking, but silence followed, and she smacked her face. "Great, I think I've started going crazy."

*Haven't you always?*

Ah, that voice was mocking her, but she decided to ignore it.

'Fucking voice! It's all in my head.' she concluded. 'I'll just ignore it.'

She didn't hear the voice anymore.

A few hours later, Mark returned with her lunch.

She was elated when she saw a doubled ration of the food she ate that morning.

This time, Mark willingly stood next to her and looked away while she feasted. But at the end of it, she still felt hungry.

She couldn't get it. She ate that much but still felt empty. Was something wrong with her? Had she become a glutton overnight?

"Now that you're done," Mark spoke up, and she raised her head to look at him lazily. "It's time for the interrogation."

Alice wondered what they would do during the interrogation. Of course, they would ask her questions that had to do with her being awakened. That was all of it.

Well, it was like she expected but what was with the treadmill attached to a mana crystal?

"Miss Alice, we would like to test your endurance and stamina." A man wearing a white lab coat said.

He looked like the one in charge of that testing site and Alice tilted her head, staring at the huge treadmill, also being powered by a huge mana stone.

Staring at wasn't a normal treadmill.

"And I'm supposed to run on that?" She asked and he nodded.

"Yes. So please, cooperate with us." He said.

Alice could sense foul play. She was supposed to come out for an interrogation, but here she was being asked to cooperate for an endurance test.

She looked at Mark and he skillfully averted his eyes.

'Oh, you sly fox. You didn't mention anything about a test so you're feeling guilty, huh?' she thought. 'Well, two can play at this game.'

She cleared her throat and said.

"Alright, I'll take the test." They nodded and wanted to start preparing when she added, "But, you'll have to get me a bucket of fried chicken afterward. Deal?" She asked and he looked at her in disbelief.

"I believe you just had lunch." Mark said and she shrugged, moving her ear to him, and in a sarcastic tone, she asked,

"Ah, is that a no I hear?" She asked and he grimaced.

She was a menace.

"Yes, I will get you a bucket of fried chicken." He said through restrained breath and clenched teeth, but she shook her head.

"No, I change my mind." She said. "I want it to be two buckets of fried chicken and a bucket ice cream included."

"How do those two go together?" Mark asked and once again, she drew her ear closer to him and remarked sarcastically,

"Huh? What's that? You won't get it?"

Mark's face went grim but he needed her to cooperate so he sighed and nodded.

"I'll get them. The ice cream and the chicken."

Hearing their, Alice's lips curled up in a victorious grin

"Alright, I'll do the test. But you better keep your word." She said as the guards took off her restraints. "If you don't, I don't know if I'll be able to cooperate so calmly next time."

Ah, it felt so good being on top and the one with all the advantages. She could get whatever she wanted as long as they needed her to cooperate.

She stretched her limbs, got on the treadmill and said,.

"Ready when you are, boss. My fried chicken should be ready when I'm done here because by then, I'll be hella hungry." She said, grinning widely.

Mark felt he had dug a trap for himself with this little missy. He simply gave the orders to one of the guards to order the fried chicken from one of the popular restaurants.

Seeing this, Alice gloated.

Ah, it felt good.