Chapter 540: The Journey Begins (2)

Chapter 538

The cohort could be seen sitting in a spacious lounge inside the Aeroglide.

Contrary to what they had expected, the Glide was practically a mini house stuffed inside an airplane.

There was the control room, where the pilot of the Glide sat, controlling the transport.

Then there was the lounge, filled with lots of couches, with a kitchenette off to the side where they could prepare whatever they needed to eat.

There were also rooms—about four to five of them—where they could rest if they wanted to.

Before coming to the lounge, they had passed through the deployment area, where they had found their hover bikes.

Four bikes were waiting for their riders.

Since it had only been two days since they were given the bikes, aside from Ray, the others couldn’t use them at all.

Van hadn’t even had the time to look at the hover bikes because of how busy he had been making the masks.

So, the number of people who could actually ride these bikes was just four: Captain Raze, Kai, Caster, and Ray.

Which meant they would all be pairing with one other person.

...Speaking of the masks.

Ray was casually sitting with his bottle of tea in his hand, taking small sips while anxiously tapping his foot against the ground.

The journey was beginning to take its toll on him, as he desperately wanted to slay some Aberrants.

’I wonder how much different it looks now.’

Bonny occasionally glanced in his direction, which the Tribrid definitely noticed but chose not to react to.

Raze’s head was drooped backward like someone in a deep sleep.

Nobody sat beside him. Only a large metallic box sat next to him, while his hands rested on the head of the couch.

"Uh, guys..." Van called out as he looked around nervously.

The others were finally pulled from their thoughts as they looked in his direction with cocked brows.

"...I have something for us that I hope will help us in this coming battle." Van said before unzipping his backpack.

And there they were.

Pulling them out one by one, Van laid the masks beside him.

All eyes immediately drifted toward them.

Even Raze lifted his head forward to see what the boy had brought, curiosity flickering behind his tired eyes.

"Masks? No offence, dude, but how is a gas mask supposed to help us on this expedition? We aren’t going to fight the Wall with chemicals." Caster stated with a confused look.

Standing up from where he sat, Van grabbed the masks and began walking from one person to the next, handing them out and watching as they received them.

The masks were pitch black, with matching straps and nothing more.

They looked bland.

"It’s still a prototype since I have a lot of features I want to add into it later on after this is all over. But for now..."

Walking toward the Captain, he respectfully handed the man the mask.

Raze stared at it for several seconds before finally collecting it.

Van gave one to Ray as well before holding his own and glancing around the lounge.

He hadn’t given one to Bonny or Johnny, obviously. He had only made eight, and besides, they weren’t there to fight the Aberrants.

"These masks will help us glean the area where the Aberrants’ hearts are located. The same way Ray was able to do so during the Invasion a month ago."

"..."

A stunned silence invaded the room as all eyes dropped toward the masks, disbelief flashing through their eyes.

"Seriously?" Chloe asked with a shocked look on her face.

Ray simply nodded.

"Tested it myself, and it works just like my ability does."

Raze’s eyes widened for a moment before a slow, subtle smile curved his lips.

’I guess it wasn’t bad pleading for their lives after all. Who knew that the useless one amongst them isn’t so useless after all?

Monsters... monsters, I say. They are all monsters in their own rights. Amazing. Simply wonderful. Just what I always wanted. A bunch of powerful Vanguards under me.’

Turning the mask over with curious eyes, Trisha looked at him.

"How does it work?"

Van then demonstrated how it worked while Bonny nudged her partner to begin filming conspicuously.

She was determined to get everything on tape—the adventures and even the war.

For now, it wasn’t time to go live.

She would only give the signal to go live when the war began.

After explaining, the cohort were all smiles as they stared at the boy.

"Wonderful, dude. You are a genius." Felix chuckled as he stood up to pat Van on the back.

"This could be very useful, sincerely. Come to think of it, how did the military or the Blue family not think of this all this while?" Chloe questioned as she held the mask tightly in her grasp.

"...."

Johnny was still filming, though.

Ray simply turned his head in the cameraman’s direction and looked into his eyes for several moments before narrowing his gaze at the camera hidden underneath the pillow placed on the man’s lap.

Sweat began gathering across Johnny’s forehead as he noticed Ray’s intense gaze.

But then, Ray simply turned away and calmly sipped his tea.

Two hours passed smoothly, and the Glide eventually reached the Aspirant Corps, where they had already sent word ahead of time that they were coming over.

The Glide was parked inside the Corps’ garage, with Sergeant Lincoln and Captain Jake wishing Ray and his cohort good luck.

Knowing how precious their time was, the two officers didn’t waste it with emotional dialogue and simply wished them luck before sending them on their way.

Bonny and Johnny borrowed a helicopter from the Corps while the hover bikes were brought out from the Glide.

Kai climbed onto his bike after the System registered him as the rider.

Then, Chloe climbed behind him, wrapping her arms reluctantly around his waist.

Caster took his bike, with Felix sitting behind him and about to stretch his hands toward the Legacy’s waist.

"I dare you. Bring it closer, and I will have my wolf have your hands for lunch."

Raze gestured for Van to come over, and soon, the tech genius sat behind the Captain.

The last to take their bike was Ray, with Trisha sitting behind him.

Her hands stretched forward toward his back, which she placed gently on him.

Ray waited for a moment before sighing and grabbing her hands. He pulled them forward, guiding them smoothly around his waist while her face pressed against his back.

A red tinge appeared on the Ice Queen’s face as her heart began beating incredibly fast.

"You know, I don’t have to be what I am before I hear your heartbeat loud and clear." Ray chuckled silently to himself.

"Don’t get any weird ideas." Trish growled at him.

"I didn’t even say anything weird, girl. Stop being guilty. I did what I did because I didn’t want you falling off the bike. This was actually made for a single rider, but s—"

"—Just ride, dumbass."

Unaware of the banter going on behind them, the bikes ahead were already rolling forward at maximum speed.

Bonny and Johnny’s borrowed helicopter was already lifting off as they, too, prepared to head toward their destination with the pilot they had borrowed.

Seeing this, Ray twisted the handlebar a few times, causing the bike to rumble beneath them.

Soon, they blurred forward at maximum speed.

They cut through the air with such force that the wind slammed relentlessly against their faces, threatening to throw them off if care wasn’t taken.

Trisha tightened her hands around Ray’s stomach, causing him to cast a quick glance downward for a moment as the Ice Queen squeezed her eyes shut.

’Why does this feel like I’m in a romantic movie of so—’

"—Don’t get any weird ideas, I’m warning you. And why the hell are you playing a romantic song?"

Ray blinked in confusion.

"Trish? I think you should clean your ears because I’m not doing that. If I was, unless you are a werewolf, you wouldn’t be able to hear with such wind pressure." He shouted as they blurred through the streets.

Trish’s eyelids flapped for a moment as confusion threatened to take over.

’Huh? Then where is the song coming from?’