The Mysterious Guest and Mizuno's Adventure

#Acheng Palace

Since the terror attack, it had been continuously raining. In an underground room in Acheng Palace, a meeting was being held with the utmost confidentiality. A masqueraded man in black sat in front of the prince. They were sipping from expensive tea cups with beautiful and unique designs.

"So, Mr. Uomo Mascherato! That was quite the firework!" The prince had a faint smile on his face. He was enjoying the tea. "I loved how it lit up the port! Our King must be mad!"

It was not clear if the masked man reciprocated the feelings but answered politely, "It's all thanks to your Royal Highness!"

"So, now that you've delivered results, it's my time to keep my promise. I'm a man of my word." The prince put the cup down and sat in a resolute posture.

"Tell me what you need."

"Your Highness, as you know, there has been an incident recently at Akunomori!" said the masked man.

"I'm aware of it!"

"We want your help to locate the survivor."

"And why exactly are you going after the survivor?" The prince seemed interested in the reason.

"Your Royal Highness, you gave your word that you would give me whatever I wanted without asking any questions. We have delivered what you wanted. Now, please, kindly keep the promise." The masked man had a polite tone, but the prince felt discomfort. However, a promise he made was a promise he had to keep.

The prince looked at a man standing silently near the door and nodded. The man came forward with a package in his hand. He put it down on the table.

"You will find the location and the security details of the survivor in that package. I hope you like it."

The masked man took the package and stood up. "Thank you, my prince! With this, our business concludes. However, if you ever need our services, you have my contact information! Pleasure doing business with you!"

The man at the door showed him out.

"What a strange man! He didn't ask for money, but just the contact information of a little girl." Smiled the prince because he did very easy business. "Wait! If a man like him is looking for something, then it must be interesting."

"Anyway, right now, I don't want to ruin my happiness with something else. The opportunity will present itself once again! If my king shows any interest, we will think about it then." He picked up a book on war tactics. He sought pleasure in bloodshed, war, and chaos. As he read the book, a menacing smile hung on his face.

#Darussufi, site of the incident

It was midday. However, due to the clouds and heavy rain, it felt like evening. There was a newly built checkpost between the jungle and Ayodale City. Although the checkpost was there to prevent zealous adventurers from entering the dangerous jungle, there was hardly any disturbance.

All day long, the guards would lazily watch the road, yawn, change shifts, sleep, eat, and then be on guard duty. They sometimes watched TV. They did not cook. A service van would come from the barracks with food, freshly laundered clothes, and uniforms. All they had to do was guard the post.

Rain created a foggy environment near the jungle. It was very difficult to even see a thing a few feet away. The guard at the outpost suddenly heard a noise—an engine came to a halt with a suppressed mechanical screech.

It seemed like the service van! He stood up, repositioned his hat, and held the weapon tightly, pointing forward! The van was there, but nobody came out. It stayed as it was.

"Strange!" The guard walked up to the van and said, "Hey! Windows!" he signaled to roll the window down.

"The window was not supposed to be tinted like this!" He knocked on the window. Something was not right; he was about to reach for the radio. Suddenly, he felt something on his neck and was put in a chokehold. He remembered reading about the fire incident at Port Emerald.

"These are the same guys!" he thought as he gasped for air, and after a few minutes of struggle, he fainted. The trained hands quickly gagged the man and tied him up.

Three men moved up to the main building; you would rather call it a shack. It was a makeshift place for the three guards stationed there. There was not much resistance.

The men quickly positioned themselves at the windows and the gate to see inside. The soldiers were busy watching TV. They silently moved back, moved the roadblocks, and retraced their way back to the van.

The guard was left by the shack at a safe distance. They did not want to make this serious. All they wanted to was enter the site of the incident.

#Mizuno's rainy adventure

After a few days of tree-climbing practices, a heavy downpour started. He became a captive inside the cave. All day long, he would toss and turn on his bed.

There was nothing to play with. How could a five-year-old child be sitting in a cave like this? He had to go out there and learn more about tree climbing! Old man Saleh had not returned yet!

"Where did he go?" he whispered to himself as he put some dry branches into the fire. Now, he could kindle a fire all by himself.

Mr. Fedor seemed to know a lot of useful things. He also told him to gather dry branches and wood beforehand. So, he did, and now he is very thankful that he did.

He could faintly hear the sound of falling raindrops. He had nothing to do, and that was really annoying him.

"I WISH I had someone to talk to!" He spoke to himself. He was not expecting anything at all, but suddenly shadows in the cave started to move.

One shadow took the shape of a little kid his age. Mizuno was not afraid of anything after a few days in the jungle. He had seen a talking monkey and ant, mysterious wolves, and a mysterious old man! What else could happen?

He moved close to the shadow and sat with his legs crossed. The shadow remained still, whereas other shadows waved with a mild breeze that came through a ventilation system unknown to him.

He curiously watched the little kid. He was just his height. There was no face, no limbs of the shadow; it just sat there, unmoved.