Chapter 173: Ch 173: Fire and Smoke - Part 4

[Forbidden action detected. Your behaviour will be corrected immediately. Core memories and emotions will be affected.]

Noah’s head was suddenly assaulted with a wave of blankness where he did not know what he was doing. It was as if his emotions and memories had been forcefully grabbed out of his mind and destroyed.

The knife in his hand fell down, and he blinked as he looked at Alan and Daniel.

He also noticed that the voices of the security forces were coming closer, and he chose to stand up and walk towards the Labs.

Since this was what he needed to do for the sake of the future, he was going to do it.

He looked back one last time to see both Alan and Daniel being picked up, and his heart gave a pained feeling.

This was the last time he was going to see these two he loved for a long time. And the next time he did see them, they wouldn’t recall who he was and what he did for them. Moreover, they would ignore him and live in their happy world... which was good.

That was what Noah wanted for them—to live a happy and fulfilling life.

His feet continued to move through the burning building, and he allowed them to carry him wherever they ended up. And that was how he ended up in front of the empty building where he had once been tested.

Noah had no idea what he was doing here, but he reached out to touch the lab’s burning glass and instantly felt his fingers getting burned.

He looked at his wound with a fascinated look on his face, but his hand was immediately grabbed by someone familiar.

The blankness he had been feeling seconds ago was suddenly overtaken by horror, and Noah could not bring himself to turn around and see who was standing behind him.

"My dear guide, what are you doing here? Everyone else has already left."

It was the head researcher, and Noah had no idea what he was doing here. He should have run away when everyone else did. So why was he here? And right now?

"What? Are you shocked to see me here? You should not be. After all, you are the reason I came here in the first place. I had a feeling you were in danger, and I had to save you."

The head researcher stepped closer, and Noah could feel his cold presence behind his back. It made him not want to move even a single inch, and that made the head researcher let out a laugh.

"Hmm, what is wrong? I can tell that you did not get hurt in your mouth, so you can still speak."

It was an order for Noah to speak, and he forced himself to speak to the head researcher.

"S-Sir, what brings you here-"

"Isn’t it obvious? I came because my favourite person was in trouble. Did you truly think I would leave you...and the kids to die like this? But since the kids seemed to have survived, it is only you left."

The head researcher spoke softly, and Noah kept quiet. He did not know how to deal with this person.

But luckily for him, he did not have to deal with him for long because the head researcher finally straightened himself and extended his hand towards Noah.

"Well, the kids are gone, but not all is lost. We still have you and this facility, so we can continue. Don’t you agree, Noah? You will help us, right?"

The head researcher cupped Noah’s face into his massive hands as he leaned forward. For a second, it felt like an unsavoury action would happen. But nothing did.

All the older man did was look Noah in the eyes with a look that made Noah freeze in horror. All he could do in return was nod and pray that things would be fine.

"Good. Now let’s go. I have a lot I want to check up on."

Noah grabbed the extended hand of the head researcher and was dragged away.

...

Life in the Labs had not been bad, but it became lonely pretty soon.

Since Noah was the only kid to return, he became the focus of the research. But he could also feel the researcher’s frustration at him being a B-class.

At such a time, it wouldn’t have been bad for Noah to declare his real grade as an S-class esper and shock everyone. But something in him just kept holding him back.

For the sake of the future he saw, he needed to keep himself hidden. And so the experiments continued in the same fashion as before. But this time, Noah was the only subject, so he was forced to take it all.

Time passed in a way where Noah did not even know what was happening. And he had no time to think about what he had lost.

He woke up in the morning, started experiments, and by the time he was done, it was time to sleep. It was a routine that continued until his days started blending together.

Then one day, this all changed, and the Lab began to get cheerful once more.

According to them, they finally had a breakthrough, and they brought a blue egg to experiment on.

That egg was fascinating, and Noah felt like he had to protect the egg as well as the small life inside it. So he made sure to sneak around so that he could see that egg more.

And finally, when that egg hatched, Bluey came out. That was the most impressive and impressionable experience of Noah’s young life. He had no way to express the joy and excitement he felt at the moment.

Looking at Bluey, he felt like he could endure everything if it meant that he could protect the small life.

And from then on, the hole that had been left behind in Noah was filled by that small but cute creature that followed him everywhere.