5. Public Punishment

“Hmm?”

Jed looked at his reflection through the mirror.

It had been three days since he resigned from the office and small alien monsters attacked out of nowhere. It also had been three days since his strange hallucination said he’d receive a punishment.

[Warning.]

[You have failed to use Ultimate Skill – Devour.]

[You will be punished.]

“Talk about time,” Jed snickered, wondering what would happen now.

[Punishment: Public humiliation witnessed by ten people.]

“Public humiliation? Nah, that’s not my cup of tea.” Jed walked out of his sparkling clean bathroom. “Let’s see, what shall I do for today?”

He moved to his desk, where he wrote the bucket list in his notebook. For the last three days, he had added more things he wanted to do, and crossed off some of them.

‘9. Get a pet

10. Wear the EADF's cool combat suit X

11. Smoke a real cigarette

12. Watch a life football match

13. Sky-diving

14. Clean my apartment

15. Play video games all day

16. Shop without looking at the price tags

17. Pick up skateboard again

18. Steal alien spaceship

19. Bath in natural hot spring

20. Visit the Eifall tower

21. Eat lots of macaroons

22. Lose my virginity with a girl I love

23. Grow my own fruit and vegetable garden

24. Go to a night carnival

25. Make someone remember me for my good deeds

26. Try diving

27. Ride an alien monster’

Looking at it, Jed nodded to himself, deciding what to do for today.

The cigarette hunt must wait for a while, because he wanted to have more information about the dealer’s whereabouts first before he moved out. Instead, he’d go to the Hallmart with springs in his step, eager to shop for anything that caught his eyes without worryingly looking at the price tags like usual.

However, when he got on the big elevator to reach his apartment lobby, an apocalyptic event happened without his consent.

Paaaaarp!

Thrrrrp!

The loud sound of his shameful fart was followed quickly by leaks from his front and back ends. It wet his pants and caused a stinky foul smell that made the other eleven people gagged in disgust.

Jed stared at the elevator floor in horror, realising that he just fart, piss, and shite himself into oblivion in the closed space of the elevator with eleven neighbours inside.

[Punishment: Public humiliation witnessed by ten people has been completed.]

When the elevator dinged open in the lobby, everyone inside rushed out with only one exception. Jed dropped to the elevator floor in utter humiliation, sitting on his own piss and shite like a helpless baby.

The elevator doors closed again, bringing Jed and the last of his dignity upstairs.

There was no way Jed could live in this apartment again for the rest of his short life. Where would he put his face?

[Failure to use Ultimate Skill – Devour for the next 24 hours will result in punishment.]

Fucking hell.

Jed wasn’t hallucinating anymore. He was living in a nightmare. He was forever traumatised.

There was only one place where he could live without having to show his face to anyone who witnessed the fall of Jed Hunter.

The Earth Allied Defense Force.

___

“What do you mean the System has already been activated?”

“It’s, ugh… exactly as it sounds, Captain.”

“Speak clearly, soldier!”

The soldier gulped, resisting the urge to flinch at the captain’s harsh tone.

Everybody said the captain was an easy-going man who liked to treat his subordinates with rare snacks and sweets, but they were wrong. The captain was nothing but an irritable, pricking presence on her side since she joined the secret division. Either the captain has two different personalities, or he was just that good at pretending to be nice on the surface.

“That is… ugh, I mean,” the soldier straightened her back and told the captain what she just read on her computer. “We have received the readings of the System’s arrival at this time. However, the signals said that it had already been activated several days ago.”

“Then, why are you only telling me this now?” the Captain’s tone lowered, but the intensity heightened in return. “How did you miss something this big earlier?!”

“I, ugh, w-we didn’t know it. I only figured it out now because the signals were unreadable three weeks ago, sir. In fact, we received it just an hour ago, and just now… it disappeared due to an unknown activation.”

“We have to get it back.” The captain balled his fists.

“Y-yes, sir.”

“We have to get the System back no matter what. Because it is the last hope humanity ever has.”

“But the alien’s main fleet will only reach Earth three hundred years away from now, sir. How can the System be our last chance?”

The captain faltered. A grim look crossed his face. “This is above your rank, soldier.”

Sensing that she asked for a confidential subject, the soldier nodded dutifully. “I understood, sir. I will not be asking for it anymore. I will only do as you are told.”

The grim look disappeared from the captain’s face. “You learn fast. It seems I’m not wrong to pick you up myself, soldier.”

“Sir.”

“Tell you what, keep up the good work and I might promote you sooner than you thought.”

“Sir, yes, sir.”

“I suppose you understand that the System’s disappearance and unknown activation is to be kept a secret from anyone. Including the higher ups and Max. Especially Max. You don’t know what the strongest captain of the EADF is capable of when he loses his cool.”

“Ugh,” the soldier grimaced, “It can get worse than what happened in Brookside Operation, sir?”

“Oh, that’s just the tip of an iceberg.”

The soldier froze, recalling the sheer raw power of Max Petrovich, the strongest man in the Earth Allied Defense Force. She couldn’t imagine how more powerful Max was if he activated the System.

Alas, it was all but a dream.

The System disappeared from their radar and an unknown person activated it first. What an unfortunate loss of opportunity.