{Featured ×4}
In the heart-pounding world of 2082, where laws bend and twist like shadows in the night, seventeen-year-old Bryan Adams is thrust into a whirlwind of mystery and danger. Tormented by relentless nightmares of his father's tragic demise...
Wow! My dad's a crime detective! He felt a surge of pleasure rising through him, and he nearly forgot where he was heading. Wait....Where's the council room again? He nearly forgot to ask Arnold about that because of all the surge of emotions that just happened moments ago. Before he could turn back to ask his way around, his nose picked up a familiar scent of perfume, which seemed to diffuse throughout the narrow hallway. A sense of adrenaline rushed in as he understood who that was. What is she doing here?!
"Hey! You lost out there?" The voice was sweet, yet something about that voice had the power to ignite a fire on cold ice. He turned back and tried to hide his emotions to his best. What's wrong with me? Why do I look like a lost nut case? "Uh...hello? May I help you around?" The voice cut across his thoughts, which immediately brought him back to reality. "Eh, yeah, I'm good; it's not like I don't know the way to the council room or something, right?" He clearly wanted to sound cool, but for some reason the girl before him gave a small laugh.
"Lot's of ego, I suppose. Either way, myself, Jessica, you can call me Jess, as that's what everyone calls me around here" she said, lending out her hand, which took him both by surprise and by awkwardness. Being a loner all his life, a sudden approach like this was absolutely excruciating yet exhilarating at the same time. "Nice to meet you, Jessica. May I know the way around to the council room?" Her hand was soft like a feather, but his ego inside him was so hard as a rock that he let go of her hand automatically.
She felt her face burn, and her cheerful face broke out into a heartbroken expression. Wiping off the emotions on her face, she pointed to a room right at the far end of the narrow hallway. "The room's right there. All the best, and you got to hurry; the council doesn't wait." Bryan wanted to thank her, but she turned around and walked away at a brisk speed. Did I annoy her or what? A wave of guilt washed over him, which made him realize that he indeed did. I'll make it up later.
The council room wasn't too distant, and Bryan reached it with brisk strides. He found himself before a robust, iron-clad door like the others that lined the hallway. However, a notable distinction caught his eye. Instead of a conventional handle, the door featured a latch. This unusual latch led to a panel housing a digital passcode mechanism. What the hell....I don't have the passcode! He took a good look at the clock hanging above the door, which clearly shouted out loud that he was a minute away from being late for the meeting. He reached for his phone, quickly snapped a photo of the unusual door, and attempted to send it to Arnold. Frustratingly, the message failed to send due to a lack of network connectivity. "Seriously, not now!" he muttered under his breath. "Looks like I'll have to solve this myself."
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Sighing, he looked around for some rays of hope, and that's when he spotted a garbage can nearby. What do we have here? Cans, tissues, oh, come on, something useful? Bingo! He took out two glass bottles and a napkin and laid them down. He smashed the bottle hard enough to shatter it into fragments. Grabbing it up with the napkin, he twisted it and smashed it several times on the hard floor until the clinking of the glass pieces faded into complete silence. He opened it and was satisfied enough to find glass powder.
