"Who wants to beg to you?" Denis yells arrogantly. “Get out of here.” Yet, the next three hours, his eyes are glued to the television, disbelief etched on his face as he watches the Eden Group announcement.Natasha appears on the screen with Sariel. They are live with a minister from the Soviet Union."People of the Soviet," says the Minister of Defense. "The Eden Group will officially help us in destroying all the beasts. We have agreed to give them the freedom to choose which city they want to raid, with the agreement that the government will still own 20% of it."The television announcement continues, Sariel chimes in, "We have also chosen Natasha Kingsley as the sole representative of the Eden Group. She and her husband will own 40% of the city, while the Eden Group will provide everything for the safety of the citizens and will have the other 40%. I wish, with this arrangement, everyone can be happy."People start to celebrate when a big group like Eden, which already owns their
Under the wide blue sky and the wind facing my face.“Master,” Sariel flies to my side and reports, “There is a horde of zombies attacking Greenwood City. What should we do?”Sariel's orb projects a screen showing images taken by people near the site.I know there were supposed to be zombies, but they weren’t expected to appear this soon. How could they have appeared now? I am confused.“Sariel, how many military orbs do you have?” I ask.“About ten thousand orbs.”“What about the power of the orbs?”“I have modified them to draw energy from the sun and water. They are very precious fuel and the orbs can function without any delay for recharging,” Sariel replies.“How about the connection?”“I have repurposed about ten useless satellites outside the earth for our personal use.”I am still sitting on the flying orb. “Alright, instruct all available orbs to clean up the zombie horde. But keep a thousand for me to continue to deal with the beasts in the next city.”“Understood, my king.”
At the Evening at the Volkov Family.I hate being here, but Natasha drags me along."Please, Alex, accompany me. They've been calling me nonstop for the past two weeks.""You could just block them," I say."I tried, but it didn't work. My father and mother wait for me outside our house every day. You wouldn't believe what they say to our neighbors.""What do they say?" I ask, curious."They say I'm like a peanut forgetting its shell. They claim they raised me well, but now that I'm wealthy, I've forgotten them. They spread all kinds of cruel rumors among the elite. I can't stand hearing these hurtful things anymore."I sigh, knowing that people who don't know the fact will likely believe the rumors."Will you let me do the talking?" I offer."Please," Natasha says. "I don't want to talk to them. I still feel hurt by them."Together, we step into the grand hall, the walls adorned with family portraits and antique decor.Old Maxim, the Volkov grandmother, sits regally in her chair. Deni
At night, I am with Natasha on a big road, now empty, when our car suddenly stops. Two cars in front of us brake hard, blocking our vehicle. Three people get out of the cars."Alex, Natasha, please come out. We want to talk about something," one of them says.Inside the car, I look at them. "Natasha, do you know them?""No," Natasha replies."I don't think they have good intentions. Be prepared."We both get out of our vehicle."What do you want?" Natasha asks.A man walks up from behind, accompanied by about a hundred people."Natasha, I heard that you made a contract with The Sariel from Eden Group. And your husband got included to the contract, right?" asks the arrogant man."Mikail Petrova, what do you want?" Natasha asks."You know, your grandma was supposed to let me marry you, but I don't know what happened since you married this lowly mercenary.""My marriage is my personal decision. My grandma cannot dictate it to me.""Yeah, I think so too." Mikail laughs. "I heard you refu
Exactly nine minutes after I tell them, I yell again, “Alright, guys, you can now call the Petrov family to ask them if they can continue paying the task or not. You are free to do it.”Some of them begin to call the Petrov family, but no one picks up the phone, causing confusion.“Do you not have another number for the Petrov family, like the main line or a worker there, to ask what happened to the Petrovs?”One young man raises his hand. “My girlfriend works there.”“Then call her and ask why the Petrov family isn't answering.”He calls and gets connected. “Margareta, what happened to the Petrov family?”The young man suddenly turns silent and pale, looking at all of them in horror. With a trembling voice, he says, “She said the whole Petrov family just got killed by the light from the sky.”Every mercenary looks at me.I yawn, “You know it’s already so late. I want to go home and sleep. Can someone please move the front car?”“Yes, yes, yes,” say the drivers quickly.“And please do
“Alexander Kingsley!” The judge looks down at me sternly. “Do you admit that you killed the Petrov family?”“Yes, Your Honor,” I say, my voice steady. “But it was in self-defense.”“Objection, Your Honor,” the opposing lawyer interjects. “Alexander is just a bloodthirsty killer. He could have tried to capture those who were trying to kill him. Why did he have to kill every member of the Petrov family?”“I believe, Your Honor,” I add, my voice unwavering. “I have records showing how the Petrov family threatened me and brought hundreds of mercenaries to try to kill me. Can I not protect myself?”“Objection, Your Honor! He doesn't have the right to kill anyone. This country still has laws!” The opposing lawyer’s voice rings with indignation.They put me in jail, and during the court proceedings, I can see many people who want to imprison me, and many more who want me dead.I am labeled a serial killer for allegedly killing almost twenty people that night.They broadcast my trial on telev
I still remember in normal, peaceful times, one person has to do many complicated things—bribing here and there, finishing the academy, and even making merit to raise their status in the military.Some people can't even raise their rank more than three times in their whole life.But during wartime, for every high-ranking military officer who dies, the lower ranks automatically rise up.Some can even rise three ranks in a day if all three higher positions die at the same time.This is an apocalyptic time. In my last memories, many people become president by having power.Since normal law cannot be enforced due to so many problems, it’s like, if you don't take the president's seat, somebody else will.I jump into the stealth orbs and let them bring me to the president's palace.It makes me feel like I am flying alone. Some helicopters fly near me, trying to shoot me, but a laser from the sky shoots them down. Sariel's voice echoes, “I repeat, don’t attack, or you will be killed.”The so
Tommy and his mother are watching live television.“He will be a great president,” says Tommy’s mother looking at Alex on it.“What?” Tommy cannot believe what he hears.He clearly knows who is being called the new president. That crazy guy who he kicked and hit in Greenwood, yet suddenly turned sane.He still hates him for many things.“You know, when buying groceries, people keep talking that Eden Country is the safest country where Sariel, the AI, controls everything fairly and justly. We always think about when we can live in that kind of place,” his mother says.Livia, the angel, whispers so only Tommy can hear, “Tommy, you can also build your own country and give people peace if you have power. You are just a step away from your mother’s dream and also your dream.”“Mother,” Tommy asks, almost whispering. “Will you give me everything if it can make me become the president like him?”“Of course,” his mother says, her eyes still glued to the television. “You are my only son, I wil