Chapter 70

TN: Hey Y'all, sorry for not uploading for a while, had some things going on in my own life, and yadi yada, y'all don't need the details. Here's your chapters ya bastards.

***

"Go to her," Erica said as she pushed Ajax forward.

Ajax chuckled a little at Erica's antics before slowly making his way to Alana, blocking her path and causing her to bump into him. Alana, who wasn't paying attention to her surroundings, was starting to apologize when she realized that it was Ajax who she had bumped into. The two of them just stood there and stared at each other for a few seconds.

"Ajax..."

"Alana... I'm not here to leave with you, but there's something that I have to get off my chest before you leave. Something that I need to tell you... I won't try to convince you to stay because this place is not worthy of you, but I still like you, enjoy the time I spend with you, and just know that I will venture out to the stars one day, and I will find you. Be it soon, or in a distant future, I'll make my way to you."

Ajax felt a weight he didn't know he had been carrying lifted off his shoulders after he said what his heart felt. Alana was stunned for a moment, then a warm smile gradually appeared on her face. She put down her duffle bag and let go of her travel suitcase/luggage and gave Ajax a light hug. Ajax hugged her back, reeling in the feeling of her tender skin and the smell of her hair.

The pair stood there hugging each other for about a minute or two as if the world around them had faded and it was just them before the public announcement system broke the tranquility between the two: "Passengers who will be taking the Space Elevator at 8 o'clock, please process to the ticket gate for check-in."

"Hey, lend me your Vox real quick." Alana let go of Ajax as she held her hand out expectantly.

"Huh? Why?" Ajax was puzzled but still handed her his Vox which Alana took. She seemed to be typing something on it before handing it back to him.

"This is my home number. If you really venture out into the stars one day, you can use it to get in contact with me. Make sure you don't accidentally delete it or something."

"Yeah, I'll guard it with my life," Ajax said as he glanced at the very long number on his Vox.

"Alright then, I'll be on my way. Make sure you miss me," Alana said as she rubbed the bleached section on the brim of Ajax's hat. She then picked up her duffle bag and grabbed her suitcase.

Ajax chuckled and nodded before replying: "I'll make sure to do so."

Alana then made her way to the check-in section without forcing herself to not look back. However, there was no sadness or loneliness in her eyes this time.

Ajax started to remember how it felt when she hugged him as he watched Alana's back fade into the crowd of people as she walked away, his heart couldn't help but ache. When she finally disappeared from sight, he felt a void in him, as if he had lost something very important. But at least he didn't feel regretful about anything.

"We'll see each other again....someday..." Ajax said to himself as he looked at the number on his Vox. How wonderful would it be if life was just vibrant and joyful and if things could be what they seem at first glance...

"Alright Mr. Ajax, let's go get blackout drunk tonight. Make it a night you won't remember." Al spoke to Ajax as he patted him on the shoulder with Erica and Lily following closely behind him.

"Hahaha, afternoon training isn't over yet. Let go back and continue." Ajax said as he held down his hat by its brim; all he wanted to do right now was become stronger.

"Huh?..." Al was stunned for a second before recovering and admiring Ajax even more for his determination. 'What kind of self-discipline would allow a person to remain so focused and committed when they are feeling down?' he asked himself.

***

For the next few days, Ajax barely spoke, dedicating himself fully to training; with Alana's departure even his usual banter had disappeared. But after those days he resumed his normal life, cheering up and starting being his old self again.

His evening routine had changed from accompanying Alana to making energy blocks, returning to his roots once again. The only difference was that this time, he wasn't doing it for survival, but for experimentation, as he wanted to see what color energy block he could create.

He found that making energy blocks was very helpful in improving his brainpower due to the fact that it required intense focus. He began to suspect that his successful piloting of the Warlock-Level mech was due to the years he had spent making energy blocks.

***

And just like that, two months went by. During this time, Ajax upgraded his skills from making white energy blocks to making green energy blocks and finally, he succeeded in making blue energy blocks. Sure he could only make one a night, something that was incomparable to the speed of industrial manufacturing. However, this was a significant breakthrough. Given some more time, he estimated he would make his way up so making purple energy blocks.

When it came to the terms of the organization he was the leader of from the shadows, there were more and more people joining the Vanguard Outcasts. They currently had over 50 pilots, and that number was steadily growing.

The money that was being sent to Ajax's account monthly had increased from 300,000 eddies to 600,000 eddies, and it was expected to increase even further in the upcoming months.

When it came to their training and strength, Ajax, Erica, and Al broke through to the High Control Level one after another. Piloting and fighting for over ten hours a day was tough, but they managed to endure. Lily was still at the Strong Control Level, if she had also broken through to the High Control Level then Ajax and the others would've felt worthless...

To celebrate their breakthrough, Al spent over 7 million eddies purchasing two Warlock-Level mechs, one for himself and the other for Erica. Ajax was surprised by his willingness to spend so much money just to celebrate. He had never seen someone just give a Warlock-Level mech away as a way to congratulate them.

Al, on the other hand, did not think too much of the money he had just spent; to him, money was just a tool to bring happiness and for fun. During the months they had spent together, their bond had deepened and if it wasn't for the fact that Ajax already had his own Warlock-Level mech, then Al would've gifted him one too.

In addition to Lily's daily training, Al used his connections in the city and was able to have them pull some strings to allow her to enroll in a nearby private elementary school, fulfilling her dream of returning to school. But Lily seemed to have forgotten the school rules and beat up a boy who was sitting at the same table as her on the first day because he was being too noisy.

Al was only able to apologize for her actions and arranged for one of his bodyguards to follow Lily to class every day. But he wasn't there to protect her but to protect the other children from her and keep her from making another blunder...

Just when things started to run like a well-oiled machine, an accident befell Al's parents. They had been in a serious vehicular accident on their way back to Boirdale. They were driving when their car lost control and swerved into the oncoming lane, hitting an oncoming truck at around 150mph. The crash split their vehicle in half and their driver was immediately crushed to death.

The truck's batteries caught fire and it quickly spread to the half of the car where Al's parents were stuck. The fire burned at over 37,000 degrees Fahrenheit. All 5 people, the truck driver, the car driver, the bodyguard, and Al's parents perished at the crash scene, with 4 of them burning to death with the car driver being the only lucky one to die instantaneously.

Since Al's parents were well-known figures, the accident was plastered on the media and they all rushed to cover it. The security team immediately cordoned off the area and surveyed the scene before reviewing the highway's video feed. It was undetermined as to what caused the car to swerve but the police chalked it up to driver error.

This news was a hard blow to Ajax and the others since Al had just told them earlier that morning that he would take them to meet his parents later in the afternoon. Al almost collapsed when he got the news of his parents' deaths. He hadn't seen them in a couple of months now and was preparing to do so today. 

Bedrichi's biggest festival of the year, the Ankang Festival, was approaching and his parents had changed plans several times to come back and reunite with him. But reality didn't give Al much time to give or take in what had happened. After seeing the remains of his parents, which were their metallic ID chips, the only things that were able to survive the fire, Al had to rush back to the company's headquarters.

He had no choice now that his parents were dead. All of their responsibilities suddenly fell upon him. He had to stand up and take control of the situation; otherwise, the consequences would be dire.

But he was too young and far too inexperienced to take control. He had been devoted to tinkering with mechs and jets, so he wasn't proficient in the business sector of life, so many of the people at the company refused to follow his orders.

With the media's extensive coverage, Qianling Heavy Industries' stock started to plummet. Coupled with internal panic, problems soon arose. Customers returned their orders, partners withdrew their funds, and many executives left. At the same time, a large amount of important research and development materials were taken away.

The once formidable Qianling Heavy Industries turned into an empty shell almost overnight.

The Ashlin Group took advantage of the situation and absorbed the entire market share of Qianling Heavy Industries, becoming the dominant player in Bedrichi's industrial military complex.

All this happened too fast, without giving Al any time to process or react as if it had all been planned. Ajax had been paying attention to the matter, and after the incident, he and Erica secretly went to the scene. He was suspicious about the accident and how the guard chalked it up to driver error.

The magnetic energy cars and trucks were very safe vehicles that often traveled at speeds upwards of 120mph. They were also made to survive accidents at such speeds, accidents which rarely resulted in injury let alone death.

Moreover, the truck was transporting a raw ore that was prone to explosion and extremely dangerous to transport, making it reasonable to say that it was not allowed to be transported near the urban areas, let alone a city the size of Boirdale.

Therefore Ajax and Erica went on to investigate things for the next 2 days so that he could prove his theory of this not being just an accident.