It was Friday, the skies of the upcoming apocalypse were surprisingly bright. There were no dark clouds nor eerie notes in the air. It was just like any ordinary day… well of course except for the few people walking the streets after the government announced the upcoming lockdown.

In some places aside from essential workers, the military and chosen industries, civilians must stay indoors to isolate to stop the virus from spreading faster. J City is yet to implement the order.  

The interschool sports competition was put to a halt and students were stuck in their respective accommodations. The organizers were helpless, especially when most of their participants showed signs of infection. One after another, they fell into a coma. 

The healthy ones were separated and put into the left-wing of the campus while the sick occupied the infirmary and gymnasium in the right where it was closest to the hospital.  

The former jubilant air of the university was suddenly shrouded by a thick cloud of gloom.

In the conference room, the professors took a break and chatted about the latest problem the world faces. 

“How long will this last? People are getting sick out of nowhere.” the schoolmaster asked.

He was very dissatisfied with the decision to temporarily wait for the medics to finish doing a routine inspection before letting those inside the campus go. Including the faculty. It’s the weekend and people needed a long rest.

At this moment, he wanted nothing but to go home and take a long bath. He was sure the others would like that as well, however, despite his thoughts, the schoolmaster maintained a genial attitude.   

“The scientists are still studying the nature of the virus. It will take a while until they develop an anti-virus vaccine.”     

“Thankfully, the medics said that the students who had no symptoms are to be sent home. The capitol will send personnel to take the affected ones. The dormitories wouldn’t be able to accommodate all if we were to be quarantined here.”

“There are still plenty of students who aren’t tested.” For the meantime, they will have to stay inside their rooms until the military is done checking. The schoolmaster with the help of homeroom teachers will have to contact their families to inform them of the situation. 

The campus has its supermarket for the boarding students’ convenience hence it is not a problem if they were to be isolated for a month. Delivery wouldn’t be a problem as well because just over the university grounds, there are restaurants lined up in the vicinity. 

During this time, the students on the grounds grouped to help in the clean up. Alvis held a broom to help tidy up the litter. Others were putting down the food stalls and decorations. Not far from where she was, Dean stood on a box, a wrench on hand while busily removing the screws of a tent.

The sun was beating down on their heads, as early as eight o’clock it was already too hot most of them were soaked with sweat. She paused with hands on the broom observing the harmonious scene.

[I didn’t know that activities like this on ancient earth are very productive and enjoyable.] 00 said in her ears.

[These types of gathering and meeting of schools was to increase each student’s sense of competitiveness and learn how to mingle with different types of people.]

[Sigh~ it’s far from the violent and death-defying activities in the empire. It’s like watching toddlers play with each other.]

Her mouth twitched. It’s because of the difference in physique! People in the Nebula Era wouldn’t mind breaking a limb or two, in this world, a broken bone could lead to disabilities, even death. 

00 was like an old explorer discovering a new planet. He was giddy for most of the time. [A very notable part of this activity is probably these ingenious stalls. My, there are plenty of things to choose from. Major, the imperial academies could replicate this to add more colour to the annual competitions.] 

[In a world of ready-made food with high nutrition value, would anyone be interested in these ancient snacks?]

[Major, I’ll have you know that as soon as the old geezers saw the footage, thousands of questions were raised. The main system is having difficulties sorting them out!] Not to mention the queries from many aristocratic families.

00 did not mention how the old guys bitterly watch the Major and her sister tour around and eat plenty of never before seen delicacies. 

Someone came to deliver the workers cold bottles of water. When the girls carrying the iceboxes neared Alvis, none of them looked her way pretending she did not exist.

[Major, those evil women were laughing at you. Grrr, so annoying!]

Alvis laughed despite herself. Why is 00 so animated?

[Leave them be, it must have something to do with that incident.]

She returned to the uni and heard about the new heartthrob. She nearly vomited after hearing the girls worshipping words of praise.     

Not so long ago they isolated the person until he became as transparent as air. So his looks became a great factor to his rise in position?  

For the first time in her life she was thankful she came into an era where most people looked like they stepped right out of a painting. One could practically bump at those fairy and elf-like beauties when walking down the streets. 

Her friend Titus himself is such a stunner he could still manage to blind her until so many years. His beauty is a national treasure level. Must protect. 

With Titus as a standard. Seeing a bit of beauty of ancient earth wouldn’t turn her into a ninny. 

Not far from her, Dean stopped moving his hands. A frown marred his expressionless visage.  

“Water?” 

Alvis was surprised when a hand extended giving her a bottle. She looked up and saw her old classmate Reed. He smiled sheepishly when she still hadn't reached for it.

“Thanks.” Alvis grabbed it, twisted the cap and drank half. She was really thirsty.

His eyes twinkled when he saw her accepted. “You look like you needed it.” 

“I do.”

Reed chuckled. “You’re assigned to the infirmary next, right?”

“Yes,” she wasn’t stingy so she added. “They needed a hand over there. More students fell into a faint.” 

“Don’t forget to wear masks and gloves. You have a little sister right? It wouldn’t be good if you got delayed here. Well, I’m going ahead. See you later.”

[Seems like a nice guy.] 00 said.

[He is.] She replied with a small smile looking at his back.   

00 was amazed to know that Major Alvis is a famous campus belle. She wasn’t only pretty, she was also smart that it was almost fantastical. Problem is that she was hard to get along with which made enough reason for others to scorn her and kick her off her pedestal. 

Another thing that surprised him was her unusual relationship with the origin ancestor. He didn’t expect that even a carrier of superior genes would have defects. According to the data, the origin ancestor was mildly autistic despite having an outstanding academic record. The only person he recognized was the major. 

He got better and better from their daily interactions in the past year and a half. Although Major was a little forceful at times, he would still allow it and show positive responses. Now he can be considered fully recovered but at the cost of their relationship.

00 suspects that Major’s reluctance stemmed from the conflict they had. 

~sigh humans. A complex lot. 

Although Major barely returned to the university, everyone would still have a few things to say. Now that she’s back, the gossip became even fiercer. Especially when they saw her huge change.

When the clean up was finished, everyone returned to the shade to cool off and rest.

Alvis sat on a plant box on the main building’s rooftop for a short break. Although she returned to help out with the miscellaneous tasks at school, the truth is that she’s here for a stakeout. She decided to keep a close eye to the target after giving it some thought. Just in case there is some unexpected threat and definitely not because she had a rare attack of conscience.   

00 was proud of his chosen host. Who knew that the Iron Maiden has a soft heart?

[I know you wouldn’t leave the ancestor origin on his own.]

[I’m merely performing my task.] she snapped unhappily.  

She is aware of her strained relationship with Dean but her mission is another matter. After getting upset for a while, she gave herself a slap in the cheek and decided to fling everything off at the back of her mind. 

A disaster is just lurking around the corner, nurturing old grudges wouldn’t help. As it turns out, she was right on her hunch.

While taking a breather, a 6.5 magnitude earthquake shook the whole city and its surrounding areas at eleven o’clock in the morning. 

00 released an anonymous message on the web last night that there might be a quake today. But since the Volcanology Institute denied the claims, many people ignored it.

[Major, the target is safe inside the dormitory. Miss Lallie woke up from her nap but fell asleep again. The villa is intact. Not a crack is spotted.] 00 reported briskly. 

Villa? More like a bomb shelter. Alvis wanted to correct. She was at ease knowing Lallie remained unaffected and she wouldn’t be scared so easily since her favourite Mr Grizzly is already there to play with her. 

Sirens rang on the streets below from ambulance, fire trucks and patrol cars pulling her attention back to the matter at hand. The quiet J City was suddenly stirred like a pot of porridge as rescuers and authorities dispatched to help the victims. 

It is estimated that there will be a huge number of casualties but things are not done yet for today. Only half an hour had passed since the last quake, the skies darkened.

It was only a drizzle at first, Alvis remained unaffected. She was looking down at the mess several levels below when a thing zipped past her, hitting the floor she was standing. Frowning she turned to see what it was, a broken hail lay quiet inches away from her.

Then, like bullets from an automatic rifle, the dark clouds above spit out a rain of grape-sized pieces of ice. Hitting and injuring anyone without a cover. 

A passenger airplane that just took off crashed in the middle of an expressway. 

[It looks like we won’t have to wait for next week.]  

[Major, I’m afraid this is the end.] 00 confirmed. 

There is a discrepancy when it comes to the record they had. Right at this moment, a correction is happening. 

[00, we are going back down, the mission starts here.]