Skye could feel Freya’s murderous gaze burning through him, he knew she hadn’t wanted to follow Axel. But the conclusion was far from what he expected. A pair of orphaned siblings, struggling but holding onto each other for warmth.

  After running Axel's information through the law enforcement database, Skye discovered the boy was a complete orphan. He didn’t even exist in the system until three years ago when he entered high school. In the slums, that was normal. Many people never had their files entered.

  As Freya shot him a pointed look, she shook her head. “He saved your life, and you’re still suspicious of him?”

  Skye didn’t answer right away. Instead, he raised his hands in mock surrender. He pulled Freya aside, his expression softening a little. He fumbled for his wallet and pulled out a bank card, handing it to her with a little awkwardness. “My salary from last month is in there. There’s about 70,000, maybe 80,000 left. Please, help me get it to that kid.” He said it quietly, almost as if he was apologizing.

  Freya stared at him, surprised. As a high-ranking law enforcer and an Awakener, he received a generous allowance. But even for him, the costs piled up—raw stones, supplements, medical treatments... it all added up to a small fortune. Yet, Freya knew most of Skye’s money went to help the poor, the people who had nothing.

  “I’ll call the team, we can chip in,” Freya said, but Skye stopped her.

  “No,” he said quickly. “The guys have families. They don’t make enough to spare anything extra. If it comes to it, you can give some to the two kids, alright?”

  Without waiting for Freya’s response, Skye turned away, limping slightly as he rejoined the team. Freya stood there for a moment, staring at the card in her hand, before glancing back at Skye’s retreating figure.

  ......

  News of the infected being cleared from Area C spread quickly, but it still took ten days to fully unlock the area. During that time, Axel was focused on something else—his sister Annabelle. Thanks to the life crystal, she could absorb it in multiple times, otherwise he would have been sucked dry in ten days.

  Axel was also noticing a shift in his own abilities. His strength, speed, and mental focus had improved noticeably over the past ten days.

  The crisis had ended, but Axel couldn’t ignore the changes he was feeling. The Force had to be increasing.

  While the team dealt with the aftermath of the outbreak, Axel went to gather life crystals from the infected remains. Twelve people had been consumed, six of whom turned into zombies. Those infected bodies had to be burned, but Axel was more interested in what, if anything, they left behind.

  When it was all over, Axel found something odd. One of the six burned bodies—a burly man—had left behind a crystal the size of a fingernail. The others? Nothing at all.

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  “Maybe my Force is too strong for ordinary infected to produce crystals now,” Axel mused. It made sense—stronger people produced less crystal yield. It was like a leveling system in a game: the higher your level, the less experience you gained from lower-level enemies.

  Later that day, Axel’s phone rang. It was his teacher, Grey.

  “Axel, how’s everything? The test is in two days. You need to come back. Even if you don’t awaken, at least you’ll have a higher Force value and can still find a good job.”

  Grey had always been long-winded, but Axel appreciated him. When Axel had first entered school, Grey had secretly helped him with living expenses, something Axel only found out later. But of course, Grey never admitted it.

  “I’ll be there,” Axel said, cutting him off. “Don’t worry.”

  .....

  Axel was watching Annabelle doing the housework, when a sudden frown creased his forehead. His expression shifted from calm to serious.

  In recent days, Annabelle’s strength and speed had noticeably improved. Watching her made Axel realize that his own Force value must have changed too, even if he hadn’t tested it recently. But that was the problem. Last time he checked, his Force value was just over 70 points. If it had spiked this time, wouldn’t that raise some questions?

  He couldn’t help but feel uneasy. With an infected sister at home, Axel knew all too well that the official stance on the infected was clear: they were to be eliminated. So he had grown accustomed to considering every possible threat in advance.

  Just as he was lost in thought, a knock came at the door. “Axel, are you home? It’s Freya,” a familiar voice called out.

  Axel stood and opened the door to find Freya standing there, accompanied by a woman in professional attire. The woman appeared to be around 30, with neatly done makeup, and her eyes lit up when she saw Axel.

  "Who’s this?" Axel asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “This is Blaze,” Freya introduced with a smile. “A reporter from *Dune Times*. She heard about your involvement in the operation and wants to interview you for a special report. Is that okay with you?”

  Axel hesitated. His instinct was to decline—he preferred to stay low-profile, after all. But then a thought struck him. This could be an opportunity to explain any sudden surge in his Force value. If he handled it carefully, maybe this would give him the perfect chance to cover his tracks.

  He thought through the explanation in his mind and finally agreed.

  Blaze and Freya took a few quick photos of Axel, and then Freya set a card and a small bag of raw stones on the table before heading out. She left Axel alone with Blaze for the interview.

  Blaze took a moment to look around Axel's modest home, her eyes growing brighter as she surveyed the humble furnishings and worn décor. Orphaned, a student, a slum dweller—and now a hero. All these elements combined were more than enough to make for an excellent news story.

  As the interview went on, Blaze was taken aback by Axel’s attitude. Despite the rough environment of the slums and the official neglect, Axel didn’t utter a single complaint. Instead, he spoke highly of the law enforcement team’s swift response and the effectiveness of the government’s actions.

  Without any prompting from Blaze, Axel steered the conversation away from anything that could paint the system in a negative light. What a perfect interviewee—she wouldn’t need to alter a thing in the article.

  When it was time to wrap up, Blaze asked, “Finally, would you mind sharing a message for the law enforcement team?”

  Usually, Blaze wouldn’t let anyone speak at the end of an interview, but Axel’s responses had impressed her, and she was curious to hear what he had to say.

  Axel smiled and leaned forward, his tone earnest. “I’d like to thank the law enforcement team for clearing out the infected so quickly. And I’m really grateful for the raw stones they gave me. I made the most of those ten days of quarantine. I used the time to practice every single day. You see, before, I didn’t have the money to buy them. But after all that training, I’ve gained a lot. Honestly, I have this feeling that I might even awaken during the graduation test!”