Chapter 4: Homeless

"Oi, Jade, you can go now."

I nodded at Eman, an older guy whose job is on the day shift. This average 24/7 convenience store only has a few employees, but during the day, there are more customers compared to at night so he's working with another one.

I glanced around to look for King, but I couldn't find him so I just waved to Eman and went out.

Today was Friday, and I wanted to treat myself to some meat, so I dropped by the supermarket to buy some raw pork meat and a few ingredients. I usually just sleep after I get home, but for some reason, I wanted to cook something delicious today and fill my stomach with some protein.

However, I didn't expect that my plans would be thwarted by these scumbags—

"Hey, the lots of you! Stop staring and move on. Go back home and leave this matter to the NSA!"

What the fuck is he saying? I understand but at the same time, I don't. I'm beginning to get pissed off because the meat I bought in the wet market is losing its freshness, and my thin patience due to lack of sleep was running out from their loud voices.

How dare they do this right in front of my home?

"Hey, you. What the hell are you still standing here for? Go home already."

I glanced at the hand that touched my shoulder, then I slowly looked up behind me. There was a guy whose eyes were slanted a bit, looking rugged with unshaved stubbles, and a bit scary due to his black eyes surrounded with heavy eyebags.

He looks more sleep-deprived than me, to be honest.

"Well, if you say so," I replied and stepped forward.

But my foot was suspended in the air when the sleep-deprived guy snatched my arm and pulled me back. "Are you insane? I told you to go home—

"That's my house. So, excuse me, but can you let me go now?"

This guy had black hair and black eyes, so I assumed he was also just an ordinary guy, but I was surprised when someone from behind us called him Captain.

"What?" The man behind me asked grumpily.

The other guy replied, "We ask around but no one seems to have the contact information of the person who lives in that house. Captain, doesn't it sound suspicious? The residents in this neighborhood are acquainted with almost each other but the owner of this house."

I didn't bother socializing with my neighbors. The housewives were all acquainted because chattering the whole day is all they do after sending their children to school.

"They also said that they had never seen the owner step out of the house during the day. And when at night, the house is so dark that no one seems to be inside. Captain, we have a loose serial killer on the move, right? What if it's that's the person? Should I dig deeper into this?"

I'm just standing there, with sunken eyes, and gaunt face, and now, I'm a serial killer. Great.

"This man claims that he's the owner." The captain turned to me. "Do you have proof?"

"Yes. Inside." You can check my certificates or even my photo albums.

"I'm afraid you can't go inside."

I frowned. "Why? What's happening? Care to explain, officer?"

"A Zephyrix Tempest appeared inside your house. Everything was sucked inside—hey! I told you it's dangerous!"

Well, who cares?! If it's that kind of Vortex, then everything I bought with my savings—my clothes, my furniture, most importantly, my books!! Is all gone?!

Even my fucking door was ripped?! I kicked the yellow tape by the door and entered my home, the captain following me from behind. He looked annoyed but stopped dragging me away. My house was a wreck.

It was a small house I bought, along with the lot, from the money I stole from my loan shark of a father. I put my life on the line and went into hiding just to buy my own home—my safe zone, yet this…this…

"ARGHHHHHH!!!!" This is the rare time that I let my emotions loose.

I threw the meat on the Zephyrix Tempest—I don't care who named it, but it was a kind of vortex made of a spiraling storm of air, creating destructive winds that can uproot anything caught within its swirling gusts.

The only reason that the walls haven't been devoured by the vortex yet is because of the Aetherlock spheres—an artifact designed to nullify the sucking force of elemental vortexes, encased in an intricate metallic shell covered in arcane runes that harnesses the rare energy of Aether—placed in the four corners of the living room where the vortex appeared.

When activated, the spheres generate an Aetheric Field, with the four spheres connected by a shimmering lasered light, serving as the line of protection. The destructive suction of the vortex will be nullified outside those lines, but beyond that, will suck everything inside.

Just like that meat that I threw away, since the Aetheric Field doesn't have a barrier, and any matter could pass through beyond the line.

If I strike one of those tripods holding the sphere, the field will distort and might break, so the tripods are also designed with Vibraglass—a semi-transparent, crystalline material that can resonate at a frequency that neutralizes energy-based attack, from plasma bolts to physic waves, or even from any force.

I might sound like I know it all even though I'm just an ordinary citizen, but because I like reading, I also learned about these things from the official magazines of UAO—United Awakeners Organization—about the inventions and discovery of new materials.

"If you're convinced, then let's move on."

The captain dragged me out of my house again. He flicked his index finger to the guy who deduced I was a serial killer and handed him a crumpled paper. It was a certificate I got from one of the student seminars I attended during college.

"Confirm if this person is him. If he is, escort him to the UAO." The captain left with another word like that.

The guy sighed. From a closer look, I could see the color of his eyes—yellowish. That means this guy was an awakener, and if he's calling the gloomy guy captain, then he's an awakener too.

"His eyes did not change…"

When the guy turned to me, I realized I said it out loud.

"It did actually. The captain used to have golden hair and blue eyes. I think he's a foreigner, but when the awakening phenomena happened, his hair and eyes turned black."

"Why black?" I asked. So, foreigners now turned to look more like Asians, and Asians became Westerners?

"The changes in an awakener's appearance depend on what power they possess. Anyway, sir…Jade Dela Torre, may I see your driver's license?"

I handed him my license. But why did I act like that? Why did I throw the meat I bought to treat myself?! Now, not only am I homeless, I'm fucking hungry too.

"Where are we going?" I asked the guy who never bothered to introduce himself and just dragged me to a car.

"We're going to the UAO. For you to receive proper compensation, you have to go there and request it. The UAO will investigate the matter. Once they see the damages, they will compensate you and help you relocate."

"The UAO? But you're part of the NSA?" I know that the vortexes are handled by the UAO, in fact, anything related to awakeners and vortexes is managed by them. Under the UAO, there are two national organizations.

First, the NSA, filled with Seekers—awakeners with combative abilities. They are responsible for monitoring individuals who are awakened with such powers, and dealing with vortexes and monsters.

Second is the NMA—National Minder's Association. Minders are individuals awakened with a rare and specialized ability to restore and manage the mental and physical well-being of a Seeker who overexerts their powers.

Seekers who lost their sanity due to their abilities, went berserk, just like what happened before, but with the emergence of Minders who can soothe their minds and exhausted bodies, those mental explosions were prevented.

However, Minders are rare compared to Seekers, probably in a ratio of 1 to 10.

"Ah, yes. I'm Allen, by the way. I'm a Seeker, and you're right, I'm registered with the NSA. When someone reports the appearance of a vortex to the UAO, the UAO will notify the NSA to scout the area and perform necessary procedures to avoid harming the vicinity. We're part of the NSA Alpha Team – 03, and the man you met earlier is our captain."

"I see." I yawned. I hit my limit. Talking became bothersome to me whenever I did, so I pretended like I was watching the birds resting on the cable wires as the car moved along the highway.

I'm glad I kept the deed of sale of my house and lot in a safe. If the UAO tries to pay me less than that, I will file a lawsuit, I swear.

However, I was too exhausted to pay attention to Allen's words, so I forgot to ask how someone had seen that a vortex appeared in my living room.