Finally feeling freshened up, I changed into my best set of clothes, the finest in the two bags I had with me.

  My next action was to write down my letter of resignation on a nearby table. Thankfully, as a temporary construction worker without any legitimate contract tying me down, I didn’t have to jump through hoops to leave.

  I had heard in the past that it was customary to notify an employer at least two weeks before resigning, but in a world engulfed by financial troubles that only seemed to worsen with each passing year, jobs like mine had desperate people lining up to take them. There were so many poor and homeless individuals, even in America.

  I couldn’t even begin to imagine the dire living conditions in some countries, especially in parts of Asia. I figured it must be hell there.

  I had seen the news on large outdoor screens streaming live footage from various locations, where people were hanging themselves out of sheer desperation in Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

  They were too poor and had no money. Or the ones who kept the household afloat had suffered major injuries, leading to parents abandoning their children through suicide. The government funds that were promised to help those children or teenagers were what they hoping for.

  However, who knew if they were actually paid?

  And I was sure this tragedy had also occurred in more than just those three countries. I didn’t follow up with the news because I had my fair share of troubles. So much so that by my twenties, I was already losing a lot of my hair.

  All around the world, living conditions had deteriorated, and widespread protests erupted against governments perceived as corrupt and ineffective.

  This civil unrest disrupted daily life and economic activities – leading to a lot of further declines in productivity and investment. It also caused the collapse of critical infrastructure. Transportation systems, healthcare facilities, and even educational institutions fell into disrepair, exacerbating the economic crisis and creating a vicious cycle of decline.

  Everyone believes that the present situation all started when tensions between major world powers reached a boiling point.

  Military buildups and aggressive posturing led to fears of an all-out war— of what people called, World War Three. Nations invested heavily in defense budgets, diverting funds from essential social services and infrastructure development.

  The looming threat of conflict caused instability in global markets, leading to decreased foreign investment and economic uncertainty.

  And then, suddenly, all went silent.

  Everyone cheered back then – believing that the world had finally regained its peace and that the economy would bounce back to how it used to be.

  But no, everyone was wrong.

  Instead, it plummeted drastically. That was how life was on Earth. I also had so much resentment and complain bottled up, convinced that the government was to blame for it all.

  Only after the Aelor attacked Earth and I joined the Iron Legion did I finally understand how terrible the situation really was. It was awful. Even before the supposed all-out war, Earth had already been grappling with its own troubles, one of which was environmental degradation.

  Rapid industrialization and overpopulation have led to the depletion of natural resources, including water, arable land, and fossil fuels. This scarcity drove up prices and created fierce competition among nations for the remaining resources, exacerbating tensions and contributing to economic instability.

  “Sigh.”

  I sighed to myself, looking at the simple letter I had written. I then placed it in a white envelope. They said life had its ups and downs, and it could be said that the situation on Earth was at rock bottom right now since the end of World War Two.

  Standing up, I walked in the direction of the canteen, deciding to have my last meal there. Along the way, many workers smiled and greeted me casually, though I also caught some malicious glares directed my way.

  Well, I had once heard that where there was good in the world, the opposite also existed, often at its worst – to be the opposite of the best. I suppose that made sense, for me at least.

  Taking one of the reusable plastic plates, each in different colors, I slowly handed it to the young man distributing the food. He was a hefty fellow, and while I could call him an acquaintance, we weren’t close enough to be considered friends.

  “You look… different today,” he said, opening the conversation while casually glancing my way.

  He busied himself by piling pancakes onto my plate, devoid of honey or maple syrup, followed by a meat bun that barely contained any meat. There were also some blanched vegetables and a fried egg on the side. Today’s breakfast was better compared to what I had yesterday – which resembled military rations that had less nutrition.

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  Sad? Well, those who lived on the streets had it even worse than this.

  Looking down at myself, I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t feel that different. What do you mean I look different?” I asked him, genuinely curious.

  He handed me the plate back and replied, “You don’t have that fake smile anymore. I guess it kinda looks good on you.”

  After saying that, he didn’t want to engage in a further mish-mash of conversation. Ignoring me, he returned to serving the others who were already waiting in line behind me.

  I walked to a table, a faint smile forming on my lips.

  Well, that guy was known to be rude and had no smile, but I knew him quite well from working here. In short, he was diligent. He might have looked serious while working – but outside of work, he was a funny and casual person. We both seemed to have a good opinion of each other because we were the same kind of fellows who, when it was time to work – put all our focus and dedication into it without wanting any distraction.

  Now that I thought it through, I almost didn’t remember his name. Allen. Yes, I was pretty sure that was his name. He didn’t survive the first initial attack.

  The reason the casualties had been so large was that Earth had caught itself unprepared for the assault. The Aelor spaceships possessed some kind of camouflage ability that bypassed all the radar systems set up to monitor any movement in the Earth's atmosphere and space, or on the ground.

  The sample to create the Champion was in the final steps of the procedure but still wasn’t completely ready. So, compared to the real population on Earth, we had far too few soldiers – and those who could potentially be compatible with the serum had lost their lives in the first attack.

  I noted that in my mind.

  We needed more people to survive.

  I sat down and quietly devoured all of the food while chatting casually with some other worker there with whom I was familiar. I didn’t tell them about my decision to quit the job. it was better to just leave silently – since I didn’t want the hassle of them giving advice, that jobs were hard to find in this day and age, so I should think about it more thoroughly less I regret it later in life. And many more that I could guess, the kind of well-meaning but annoying comments they would make.

  Finish with the meal, I walk to the managerial office. Knocking twice, I called out.

  “Excuse me…”

  Just as I had called out, suddenly my ears caught a faint sound from the inside. Put my head closer and listened intently, I found out, there were unmistakable sounds of clapping cheeks, a groan from a man, and a moan from a woman. Looking at the door weirdly, I subsequently raised my eyebrows and looked at my watch. It listed, 08.15 A.M.

  ‘What the heck, at this hour he is exercising inside,’ I thought to myself as I shook my head.

  Finally, after five minutes, the sound was gone. It seems they had been at it for quite a long time – or maybe it was indeed a short time. Not like I cared much…

  Knock the door a few more times, for the sake of pissing out the man who was on the inside, finally, I got a response.

  “What is it? Bloody bastard,” I heard some sound of clamor from the inside. A few moments later, the sound of footsteps from high heels approached the door.

  Waiting quietly, the door then opened. Looked up, and I found out it was a skinny girl, quite pretty, startled seeing me.

  Her hair and clothes were messy, with a smudge of lipstick streaked across her cheeks and a blush on her face. There was also the smell of alcohol emanating strongly from her, and of course – a weird smell from…

  Cough, cough. Man’s hormones in other words.

  She looked down and in panic, hurriedly ran away from the spot. There was also a mist formed on the edge of her eyes as she wanted to cry after seeing me.

  Why such a reaction?

  That was because I knew her.

  In this day and age, everyone was struggling. That woman who worked here was actually the ‘call girl’ for the several, let’s say – bosses, leaders, or whatever here. There was a time I caught her crying in the bathroom, right at the back of the building where rarely anyone was there.

  The young me at that time, was a shy guy and not really great – alright, I admit, I’m the worse one when it came to interaction with a fellow human being.

  I stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to say. Just as I wanted to turn and leave the place, she turned toward me and called out, to have me stay there – to not leave her alone there. While crying, she stood up and approached me. When she was right in front of me, she began to unbutton her shirt one by one, and I hastily stopped her.

  “What are you doing?” I reprimanded her. I still recall how I raised my voice to her.

  “Why? You don’t want me? Aren’t all men the same? Or maybe your taste is so high up there, that you are disgusted with me. A dirty woman? Isn’t it? Right?”

  I still remember her cloudy eyes. Her desperation. Her helplessness. The fading light at her eyes. I didn’t know much about the mindset or reason of those girls who sell their bodies for money and food – because, in these desperate days, many girls have done that anyway.

  But that time, I somehow had an inkling, that if I didn’t do or say anything about it, this girl likely was about to give up her life. There were too many cases at this age when I was watching the screen display on the side of the road. Suicide was far too common of cases.

  Usually, I couldn’t care less about it, however, something kept scratching inside my heart. I felt a mixed feeling that I couldn’t comprehend.

  Without thinking much, I hugged her, while whispering directly to her ear, that she wasn’t a dirty woman – but just someone who was lost – and that she could cry on my shoulder if she needed it, anytime.

  When I was at the part where I told her, that not all men were the same, she chuckled. After which, she blew hot air on my ear, making me quite uncomfortable. And we stayed there – hugging each other, lost in time until finally, my watch received a call, that my superior called me out of my absence from work.

  I hurriedly let her go and told her that I needed to go back, to continue my duties. She gave me her smile, and said to me, to be careful while at work. I nodded, then left her alone.

  That was the last of our interaction. And whenever she saw me at work, for some reason, she always ran away. Of course, the adult me somewhat understood why she did so.

  I also finally understood, why my superior, always looking at me with ire while I was working, constantly bullied me and made me work past my hours. If I didn’t look tired enough, they would keep persecuting me unfairly, loudly calling out of me, way over the top reprimanding me with a harsh tone – often when I didn’t even make any mistakes.

  Kept adding work to me, or just outright asking for money, telling me that they would pay it back, but they never did – even after the accident.

  All because of this girl's real affection, if someone wasn’t blind or an idiot, was clearly directed at me.

  Tch, thinking about this part often made me question my humanity, and there was a time, seeing all of the corruption at the heart of my fellow humans, I started to question myself, whether what we work and fight for as the Champions of the Earth, had any worth or meaning to it.

  * * *