Keng sat down at the station as the police officers barraged him with questions. He went with the made up story he and the Fox Spirits had decided upon. Well, he had no choice in it. It was the "best" choice according to Ysa.
"You won't sound like a total idiot." Ysa retorted. "Plus, you don't have to think about anything with this backstory. They'll totally buy the story." Keng scoffed and folded his arms as he eyed Lee Seng's friends. They were all told to wait in the lobby until the police were done questioning Keng.
"Let me summarize this." The police shifted in his seat. He looked at the holographic screen and began to read the contents on it aloud. "You left with a man at night. This man is supposedly someone you know from your Father's lab?"
"The Creator. Yes." Keng answered.
"And you were on a job. A job that got you in the wrong place at the wrong time?" The police continued, looking at Keng for a verbal response.
"Yes." Keng nodded.
"So you managed to break away from this man and the job, only to get lost for a couple of days and end up in the wrong part of a city outside the Capitol…?"
"Yup." Keng nodded, again.
"You ran into a group of thugs that managed to beat you, a student of the Numbers Academy, and were tortured for the last month and a half?" The cop ended the story.
'Who would believe such a thing?' Keng though tot himself.
"Yes." Keng nodded. He was showing his side profile to the cop, a bit annoyed at the plan, but this only seemed to make the police officer believe him more.
"Alright, if that's all then sign here. We called your Dad, someone's coming for you." The police officer informed him.
'Another problem in of itself…' Keng thought.
"Can we go in now?" Manny asked, impatiently. The police officer waved and the other police officer stepped away. Lee Seng's friends poured in, surrounding Keng as the other police officer stepped away.
"Are you okay?" Liz asked.
"You feeling fine?" Olivia asked.
"How's your headaches?" Manny asked. Keng's eye twitched, catching Ritsuka's attention first.
"Alright, you're barraging him with too many questions. Enough. Give him some space." Ritsuka squeezed himself between Keng and the group. The others moved away, allowing Keng some space as Ritsuka turned and studied him for a second. He leaned in and whispered, "Are you okay? What even happened to you? You were acting weird that night you left."
"I'm fine." Keng whispered back.
'Should I ask him if he knows who I am?' Keng looked at Ritsuka as he pulled away. 'Nah. I shouldn't risk it.'
"Thanks." Keng nodded at him. Ritsuka smiled at him and turned to look at his friends.
"Stop hogging him." Manny pouted. "I wanna talk to him too!"
"All yours. Don't overstimulate him. He's probably had enough for the two months he's been gone." Ritsuka warned them. Manny moved past Ritsuka and squatted.
"You okay?" Manny asked. They would ask him all that and he would reply the same.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Keng nodded. Manny and the others squatted down, bundling around him for warmth as the police sweater and somewhat loose pants tried to shield him from the cold.
The door slid open and a group of men walked in. Keng sighed as the others turned to look. Manny turned and nodded, knowing who these men were.
"Ah, Mr. Valentin, you're here as well." One of the guards greeted him. The group of guards split revealing a strange woman. She wore a flower patterned coat, bundled up with a huge knitted scarf and a fancy floppy hat for summer. She wore heels, even in this cold of a weather and had an expensive bag on her right arm.
"Who's this?" Manny asked. The woman came to a stop, striking a pose as her eyes went to Keng. She seemed to stare at him for ages before looking at the others.
"Who am I? I'm the Creator's helper. He cannot come, so I came instead." The woman told Manny. Manny waited, not amused by her answer as the woman cleared her throat and shifted her legs. "I'm Eliza Queenie. You may call me Queenie." Her eyes shifted to Keng. "And I'm here for you. Your father wants you at a disclosed area I cannot tell you about."
"He isn't going to the lab then?" Manny raised an eyebrow. Queenie scoffed and flipped her hair. She seemed out of place in Capitol City. At least that's what everyone was thinking but Keng.
'She's… A lot for one of the Creator's men.' Manny thought.
"Alright, let's go." Queenie strutted up to Keng and walked to fingers onto his shoulder.
"Let us tag along." Manny cut in. "I need to make sure my teammate and best friend is okay for training with us. I don't need him to be put into solitude for another month, again."
"No can do, Valentin. Orders are orders." Queenie turned to look at him. Manny narrowed his eyes as Liz poked at him.
"Enough. We can see him tomorrow." Liz whispered.
"I insist on tagging along. With how things are going in this city, he might get mugged right in front of someone like you and you won't be able to do anything." Manny smiled. Queenie frowned, taking slow steps towards him.
"I'm pretty sure I made myself clear, Valentin. You. Cannot. Come. Creator's orders." Queenie's cheery demeanor shifted into a sinister growl. Manny eyed her while Olivia and Liz tapped him.
"Just listen to her. I'm pretty sure she's capable." Olivia hissed at him.
"Listen to her." Liz jabbed Manny in the side. Manny groaned, clutching his side as Queenie turned, satisfied.
"Come, come, Lee Seng. Let's go!" Queenie spoke cheerfully. "We have so much to do. Wouldn't want to waste time, would ya?" Keng sighed and stood up. He lifted his hand and put it on Ritsuka.
"What's today?" Keng asked.
"Uhhh…" Ritsuka pulled his phone out and turned it on. He tilted the screen towards Keng, who looked at it.
'Sunday.' Keng thought. He nodded and patted Ritsuka.
"I'll see you guys tomorrow." Keng waved goodbye to them and followed Queenie out. The guards wrapped around Keng as Queenlie led in front. She strutted off, happy as can be. They moved out into the parking lot and Queenie moved to the side as another guard pulled the door open.
"In ya go, Chang." Queenie motioned. Keng nodded and climbed into the black SUV. A guard was sitting on the other side as he settled into the SUV. The door shut as Queenie stepped into the shotgun seat. "Let's go." The driver nodded and started away.
They were flanked by two SUVs in front of them and behind them. Keng sighed as he watched everything blur by. Queenie hit the radio and started to hum to whatever song came on.
'She sticks out like a sore thumb.' Keng thought. 'She's probably not from around here, huh? I think she would fit a New Yorker vibe. Yeah, that's what it feels like.' Queenie sang the song perfectly in pitch, adding her own flairs while the driver and the guard next to Keng sat quietly.
A couple hours later, they arrived in the middle of nowhere. It looked like a deserted place. Keng watched closely as a row of fences appeared within his sight.
'What is that?' Keng asked himself.
"Boss says you have sharp sight. You can probably see it, but that's the place we're going to." Queenie pointed. Keng looked in front of him. Queenie had turned to look at him. She had somehow put on sunglasses even though it was dark out.
"What's this place?" Keng asked.
"A place away from prying eyes." Queenie replied. The SUVs all pulled in one after the other. The gate opened, letting all of them through. The moved down the straight road until a huge set of buildings appeared. It was exactly like the lab Keng knew a lot about from Lee Seng's memories.
They came to a stop at the front of the building and the door opened. Queenie threw the door open and stepped out as Keng slipped out of seat. The door shut behind him as Queenie led the way.
"Come come. Let's get this over with." Queenie motioned. Keng sighed and followed after her. The strange laboratory was a direct replica of the other lab Keng knew about. It stood in the cold and withered land.
'Something like this doesn't just exist.' Keng recalled from Lee Seng's memories. 'This place would be crawling with monsters. I wonder how much they had to do in order for all of this to be quiet.'
He entered the lab, feeling the warmth of the building greeting him from the cold. A group of doctors were standing forty of fifty feet away from him. They smiled as Queenie came to a stop between Keng and the doctors.
"Lee Seng, it's a pleasure to see you're doing well." A doctor spoke up, cheerfully.
"We'll need to you to cooperate with the tests." Another doctor commented.
"Once you do that…" Queenie turned and smiled. "You can go back to school!"
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter