Lunar Awakening-Chapter 32: Aw, Crap!

The very next day started with Leo eating the leftovers of the meal he had prepared the night before. He then went to run his early morning practice routines with the red needle. With each move he made, he could still feel the pain of his wounds biting back at him.

He swallowed the pain and finished his practice much earlier than usual. Then he set out wearing what had to be the only pair of good clothes he had left and carrying his backpack with him. He made sure to securely lock the door before leaving.

While walking through the grounds of Glory Base, he tried his best to avoid meeting anyone on the way despite leaving before the break of dawn. He did not want anyone calling out the peerless loser for another laugh.

One thing continued to bother Leo since he had woken up. He thought deeply about who this Xavax within him was and why it only responded to him at certain times. There were moments when he tried to initiate a conversation with the entity, but it seemed the strange voice was either asleep or unable to answer.

Leo was used to being a solo hunter within Glory Base. The isolation had built him into who he was now, and he had no need for a second party, especially not one that ripped out people’s hearts like they were jelly tarts. The memory still caused him to shudder.

He wore a snug ash coloured sweater over a pair of dark pants. He dug his hands into his pockets and approached the ascension platform.

The ascension platform was more like an airport, but for portals instead of planes. It was a massive building with a wide open space, several checkpoints, and long escalators.

In the first decade, the use of technology had been impossible in the brutal grounds of Hellscape. However, through some miracle, a scientist had managed to bring technology into Hellscape.

The only people with access to it were the Military Surge Alliance, as they were considered the governing force. They used advanced technology across various bases, ranging from simulation training to special parameters such as security systems and gateway monitoring, where superhuman officers were stationed.

The one thing that still limited this achievement was the fact that it remained impossible to send messages to the waking world through the portal. That did not stop the government from wasting millions of credits trying to find a solution.

Leo approached one of the escalators and saw hundreds of people descending into Glory Base and ascending toward the waking world. All of them were superhumans, as it was still impossible for mortal humans to cross safely. Leo let out a sigh of relief. On a normal day, there would have been thousands moving around.

The smaller the crowd, the easier it was for him to breathe. He also did not want to be in a crowd with his heightened senses acting up. It took a lot of willpower to keep them dialed down.

A few seconds later, he was on the escalator, being carried up toward the checkpoint. Upon reaching the top, he submitted his bag for scanning and showed his ID card as a resident of Glory Base.

It was only meant to take a few seconds. His fingers tapped against his pockets as he waited. He glanced at the officer handling the check. She was a tall woman with short dark hair and the tired look of someone who had missed her morning coffee.

As she was about to hand his ID card back, a voice stopped her. "Hold that, Eunice." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

’Aw, crap.’ Leo furrowed his brows in annoyance. He had not expected to meet her this early in the morning.

Considering how rarely he saw her stationed at the gateway, he had not anticipated running into her at all.

A beautiful tall woman with long black hair tied into a ponytail stepped forward, dressed in a fine silver uniform with a pristine badge that marked her rank within the Military Surge Alliance.

Leo forced a crooked smile onto his face. "Oh hey, Cassie. Fancy meeting you here."

Eunice shot Leo a furious glare. "How dare you address the commander in such a casual tone."

Leo shrugged indifferently. "Who cares? She’s not complaining, is she?"

Cassandra Hearth gave the stationed woman a brief nod before collecting the ID card and signaling for Leo to follow.

As Leo passed Eunice, he deliberately rolled his eyes, earning a look of pure disgust. He followed Cassandra with his backpack on and quickly noticed something wrong. They were not heading toward the portal.

He cleared his throat nervously. "Um, Cassie. I’m supposed to be going the other way."

She continued walking without saying a word. Leo’s fingers twitched. He had always hated the dead silence she maintained during most of their conversations.

As they moved on, he noticed other Surge officers watching them and murmuring. He could not help but listen.

"Isn’t that the peerless loser?"

"What’s he in for?"

"Did he piss off the commander?"

"What a shame."

On the way, Leo ran into an old acquaintance.

"How have things been going, Bazzle?" he asked, a dark glint in his eyes.

The tall, lean man immediately recognised Leo and frowned deeply. He looked like someone who had seen better days, and Leo suspected he had been busy.

Fortunately for Leo, it was still early, meaning there were only a handful of people in the Surge base. Even so, he wondered where Cassandra was taking him. He briefly considered turning around and sprinting for the portal, but she still had his ID card.

"Come on, Cassie. Do you always have to be so serious and complicated?" he said with a loud groan, but she did not respond.

A few minutes later, she led him into a massive room that resembled a futuristic gymnasium. The walls were made of reinforced metal capable of withstanding significant force from a superhuman. The room was lit by several large light panels overhead.

As soon as Leo stepped inside, he did what he always did in places like this. His eyes scanned every inch of the room for hidden cameras. Unsurprisingly, he spotted them in plain sight.

"They are not operational right now. It’s just you and me," she said, as if reading his thoughts.

He watched her come to a stop and took one more look around before asking, "Cassie, what exactly are we doing here?"

She turned to face him. Her beautiful features were filled with a conviction so strong it made him shudder. "We are going to have a light spar."

For several seconds, Leo was left speechless. He carefully considered who was standing in front of him. There was absolutely nothing the strongest awakened in Glory Base could gain from fighting the weakest, so there had to be another reason.

Leo felt his legs threaten to give out. He briefly considered turning tail and running, but it was only a spar. Or maybe his funeral.

He swallowed and tried to say something, anything, to talk her out of it. Instead, the only words that escaped his mouth were,

"Aw, crap."