THE ILLUSION

04. MISSION

After explaining, Eldric walked over to Merin. He held out his hand with a straight face. Loey removed all of the holograms in front of him and replaced them with a chair that fell from the ceiling.

Merin smiled as she took Eldric's hand. They walked over and sat in the front, just as Olivia pushed the lens tube and placed it beside her. A feeling of tension rises along with an exhalation.   

"Mr. Robert, according to the agreement, the court must issue an official license to Fantasia if Merin Noella succeeds in carrying out this project within 6 months."

Mr. Robert cleared his throat. "Of course."

Eldric turned his gaze to Mr. Bram. “Mr. Bram, you as the police have officially become witnesses to this project."

Nod Mr. Bram welcomed Eldric's statement. Merin looked up just as Eldric glanced at her.

“Guys, start the operation!” said Eldric.

Olivia pressed the green button on the top side of the tube. Smoke rises as soon as the tube opens. Exposing smart lens is a thin iron-linked one-by-one smart lens. His body bent in front of Merin, causing him to see the curls of the girl's eyelashes. Merin sensitively looked at Eldric as their faces narrowed. It is undeniable, that the two hearts are racing with each other.

Eldric tilted his face so that his fingers could more easily put the smart lens on Merin's eyeballs. Reflexively, Merin blinked many times as a smart lens landed next to her eye.

"Wow, that's one-sided." The girl muttered. Eldric repeated the move, this time trying to be faster.

“I can see that you hate me so much,” Merin mumbled again, causing Eldric to hold his finger over the girl's face. He held his gaze for a long time.

“I assure you that you will not escape this punishment forever,” said Eldric.

Merin looked down for a moment, then looked back at Eldric again.

"We'll see later if your hateful look will change when my eyes are completely blue."

Eldric remained expressionless. While finishing his work, Eldric secretly tried to guess what the girl meant. Is she teasing me so I can lighten her sentence? Smart girl, but don't expect me to, Eldric thought.

Done, but it signals a new beginning. The atmosphere is quiet for a moment. Everyone in the room waited for Merin's reaction. Their facial muscles were stiff and seemed to be holding their breath. Finally, Merin's quick blink of an eye sighed relief. That means the smart lens was successfully implanted without changing the function of the eye.

Eldric crouched before the blue-eyed girl. He gave her a restless look.

"You can see me clearly?"

"Hey, handsome!" Merin teased with a nod and a big smile.

Unfortunately, the smile was immediately pulled back and disappeared in an instant. She looked up, her gaze becoming full of fear. Her ears buzzed loudly as if something was pulling him into another dimension. She closed his eyes for a moment. Then while trying to peek, a large plane was ready to grab him at full speed.

“Watch out!!!” Merin shouted as she dropped her body on Eldric. Making the professor's back lie down while letting the girl hug him tightly.

“Jasper!” Eldric called in a deep voice.

“What? The security system is fine,” said Jasper.

Eldric glanced at Loey who was still focused on his computer.

"Okay, I'll pause it first.” Loey saved him.

The boy returned to fiddling with the computer lazily.

Merin was still hugging Eldric with a thin groan. The pain started to creep up, and Eldric hesitantly patted Merin's back.

"Open your eyes. The danger is gone."

"What was that?" cried the girl as she got up.

Eldric followed. He waved both hands on the jacket and smoothed it out.

“First level situation, the second world activate. The moment our 7-dimensional hologram merges with your world.”

"Just holograms? Why does the atmosphere feel so real?” asked Merin irritably.

Eldric's index finger played in his eye, then tapped his temple. He hints that the two are connected.

There was a chuckle from Mr. Robert. "It turns out that this punishment makes people crazy,"

"More precisely the death penalty," Olivia interrupted, "it also encourages someone to commit suicide."

Mr. Robert's gaze turned to Eldric. “Surely you can't let it die before testing ends. You have to remember the court hasn't knocked the hammer. This punishment is only temporary. If Merin dies before testing, then this project is a complete failure.”

Instantly everyone's expressions stiffened, especially Merin who started to get provoked. She gritted her teeth with a slight chuckle. Sparks of annoyance rained down on him. Unexpectedly, this punishment led to terrible and evil things.

 ***

For the first time, Merin walked not alone under the city sky. No—until a drone transforms into a 'prison warden'. Although anti-noise, Merin could guess the drone's presence with a glance in her eyes. Once the device slipped behind the building.

Elsewhere, there was only Team Fantasia in their new base.

“How? Shall we bring them out now?” Loey asked dryly.

Eldric shook his head without taking his eyes off the big screen.

"Wait a little longer."

Again, he watched Merin's movements, no matter how small they were. Suddenly, Merin stopped in front of the television station's office. Several people were seen crowding around while staring straight at the giant screen that was playing exclusive news. Merin's eyelids twitched, and the familiar situation presented by the media made her sick.

LATEST NEWS: THE TRAGEDY OF THE EAGLE TECH STUDENT MURDER.

ISABELLA LIU WAS FOUND DEAD ON THE EMERGENCY STAIRS.

KNOW ABOUT THE PERSON WITH CONFIDENTIAL IDENTIFICATION HURRY UP IMMEDIATELY.

UNIVERSITY AND POLICE AGREE TO MAKE THIS CASE FOR OFFICIAL TESTING OF THE FANTASIA PROJECT.

    The headlines are getting bigger.

A NEW LAW ORDER: WHAT IS A FANTASIA PROJECT?

    

Feeling lazy to hear the announcer explain further, Merin decided to go home. However, she only took one step. The conversation of two female students held him back.

"Shh, what the hell. The culprit should be put to death immediately,” said the ponytail girl.

Crossing her arms, Merin watched them with a sharp gaze. Pleasant thoughts began to creep in. Trying to sort out what fun games could make the two girls wince in pain.  

The friend beside her laughed in horror. “Haha right, what project is that anyway? Wasting time. Let the criminals roam with us? Crazy idea! What if we get in danger?”

Merin pursed her lips. Her brows furrowed. To hell with those thoughts, her hands were itching to grab their hair. 

"Bastards," Merin muttered as she walked towards them.

Eldric almost chuckled at Merin's expression on the screen.

"Now!” He instructed Loey.

Again and again, Merin's steps were stopped. To be precise, she almost fell over because suddenly the drone rained blue lasers on the ground. Unexpectedly, two strangers appeared at once in front of him. A man in a white uniform with blue stripes on his shoulders. Meanwhile, beside him stood a girl with pink hair in the same uniform.

Merin glared. Holding her breath, she guessed who they are.

"Are you guys duo ghosts?" She asked in surprise.

The man snorted as he put his hands in his pockets. The pink girl looked at Merin with a cheerful smile. Suddenly, Merin's vision was blocked by the writings that stretched out in front of the girl's face.

   IDENTIFY THE CARETAKERS TEAM

   PINK SCARLETT – A GOOD MISSION;

   ESTABLISH YOUR CONSCIENCE; MAKE YOUR EGO

   AGE 18 YEARS OLD

   LOVELY AND CHEERFUL

   Disclaimer: don't disappoint her

    

Merin's mouth. Then, she quickly turned to the boy.

        Blue Iron – Dangerous Mission

        Awaken your ego and logic

        19 years old

        Temperamental

        Disclaimer: don't make him angry.

    

For a moment, Merin's head felt heavy. She lowered her gaze as he continued to blink rapidly. Tried removing the writings and finally, it worked. As if sucked back by the pupil of her eye.

Merin looked up. “Wow, this world gives me goosebumps. They even created fake humans.”

“What? Fake man? How dare!” growled Iron. With burning eyes, he approached Merin with clenched fists. Scarlett then pulled him back and interjected between them.

“We're just a system, but don't remind Iron. He's sensitive," whispered Scarlett.

Merin pursed her lips. "Well, I can handle it."

Scarlett smiled, revealing adorable bunny teeth. She lowered her shoulders to look like a breathing.

“Well, Merin… you have identified us. For 6 months, you will carry out countless missions. Divided into two anyway, I held a mission of kindness, and my brother—Iron held a dangerous mission. If you manage to pass one mission, then your sentence will only last until testing ends. But if you fail, your sentence will be increased by 3 years after the end of the testing period."

"Wow, you guys are good at making people suffer," Merin muttered, crossing her arms.

"Oh yeah, one more thing. According to the rules, you can't meet Professor Eldric let alone ask for his help," said Iron.

“Stingy bastard! Let me run the project alone? Seriously!" Merin protested.

Iron gritted his teeth. “Do you think we are useless, huh?”

“What if I insist? I could have broken through the base,” Merin said.

Scarlett's expression turned flat. “They have moved to a new base. The university gave them a period off during testing.”

“Shit,” Merin grumbled, “well, when did my first mission start?”

Iron raised his chin. Staring sharply at something behind Merin.

"Now."

Merin suddenly followed where Iron's gaze landed. She turned around slowly. From the corner of her eye began to catch the highway with heavy traffic. Her ears began to pick up on the noise of speeding vehicles.

Now her eyes were perfect to see what was happening. Merin immediately cupped her mouth with both hands. The adrenaline surged to a breaking point. She had never felt this restless. What he saw now was a reflection of her fear all along.     

Die with suffering.

***

The headquarters' automatic door shifts by itself. sensor sign infrared detects someone's steps. Eldric and his team immediately turned their heads with sparkling expressions.

"Professor Takeda!" Jasper exclaimed.

His white coat looked too big to match his thin beard and hair which had also turned completely white.

"You look very busy apparently," said Prof. Takeda.

Eldric briefly shifted from the main screen which was higher up. His hand gripped the edge of the stairs.

"You've come back from Japan, Prof."

The professor rushed over to him excitedly. "Wait, let me go over there to see your new invention."

Eldric greeted Professor Takeda and watched Merin together. Once the eyeballs of Prof. Takeda reflected the light off the screen, he cleared his throat. The senior professor raised his round glasses while shaking his head.

“What a troublesome first mission.”

“What the—” Merin's throat felt suffocated. A child's cry pierced her eardrums. The 3-year-old girl is in her mother's arms. Although in the arms of the closest people, the mother actually tried to lead her life to death. The two of them stood in the middle of the road, while car horns tussled against each other as they tried to dodge.

Iron crossed his arms. "You have one minute," he said, then confirmed by the timer that popped up from the lens.

The sky that seemed fine at first suddenly clouded over. The drizzle of rain came with lightning, then slowly gushed down the street.

“You want me to save them? What for? Why should I?” Merin asked in a rising voice.

"What is clear is that if one of them dies, then you fail."

"Damn."

"Your time is ticking, Merin," said Scarlett.

Eldric tapped his fingers on the table, then stopped when Professor Takeda's deep voice broke his concentration.

"I know the girl," said Prof. Takeda, “she's one of my majors and yes… that girl was born without empathy, a sociopath.”

"I know right, Prof. I could tell from the look in her eyes. She pisses me off," Eldric said.

Merin's hands clenched into fists. She bit her lower lip, then ran off with a sigh. The honk grew louder as she made her way through the street.

"Madam! Madam! Don't do this, we have to pull over!” cried Merin. She tried to grab the mom. However, her hand was immediately thrown away.

"Who are you? How dare you interfere! Go! Let me die with my son! Why do we live when my husband just leaves.”

Merin squeezed her hair hard. Her body kept moving to avoid the car.

"Then die alone! Don't take your child!"

“What right do you have?”

"And what right do you have to take this child's life?"

"I'm his mother!!!"

“No,” Merin shouted, “I know a woman like you. A woman who is not born becomes a mother."

I don't know what happened, Eldric's heart suddenly fluttered. For the first time, she looked at Merin with a different look. He watched every raindrop that fell past his face. The girl's lips began to tremble. However, her eyes remained as tough as ever.

Eldric's brows furrowed as he gazed deeper into Merin. The cold and lonely air seemed to gently knock on his heart. He remembered Merin's scream the last day. They will kill me if I damage their reputation.

“You insolent bastard!”

PLAQUE! A hard slap landed on Merin's cheek.

Eldric was aghast. His breathing suddenly became erratic. For some reason, his steps turned, and tried to catch up with Merin. Then, Prof. Takeda immediately held his hand.

"What's wrong?" asked the Professor.

The three friends turned around.

“Eldric, are you surprised that my hologram character is too rough?” Olivia said.

Eldric cleared his throat while returning to his original position. "Ah, I was just daydreaming."

The child's cries and the roar of the engine wrestled with each other. Plus the sound of a loud horn suddenly splitting the street. The horn came from the school bus that was speeding towards them at full speed. The driver's head popped out of the window waving.

“STOP! BREAK BRAKES!”

Frantically, Merin put her hands together on the child's body. Trying to pull him out of his mother's arms. However, the woman actually strengthened her embrace.

"This is the time," the woman whispered, closing her eyes.

"Really!"

Merin wasn't out of her mind. She bit her arm so that her grip loosened. The child moved into her hands in one tug. Other vehicles had pulled over since the asphalt road shook. The distance between Merin and the bus was getting narrower.

BLAST!

Exactly 5 seconds before the bus ran over them, Merin locked the woman's neck and pushed her aside together. This technique was done by Merin so that if the woman resisted, her neck would be strangled. Even so, her arm looks chafed from being scratched.

"She's smart," Eldric chimed in. "Loey, get back to the way things were."

Without responding, Loey entered a series of scripts as a translator between himself and the system on the computer. His index finger hit the enter key. A message bubble appears.

Back to the real world?

Without hesitation, the boy pressed the yes option.

Merin's chest heaved up and down as she reached the pavement. She closed for a moment as she swallowed hard. When her eyes opened again, she was speechless. Her lips slightly gaped at the sight of the mother and child slowly being eroded by the wind. The echo of the child's cries still lingered in her mind, before the traffic activity brought her back to consciousness.