Chapter 41 – We are here

…

The shadow carefully observed Emanuel’s facial appearance. It was a steely look with no place for any other emotion. His heart trembled with excitement!

“That’s it! That’s my Brother Ninth!”

The apparatus and screens in front of them were the evidence of his glee. Green liquid with bubbles bobbing up and down was kept inside several cylindrical containers. Emanuel’s fingers tapped on dozens of buttons with no pause. Various biological data flashed in his eyes before a loading bar emerged and only then he stopped to wait.

After a long wait, the loading bar was finally filled up. Then, he clicked okay with the mouse and stood up from his chair.

Chak. Shua. The cylinder emptied out and the green liquid flowed to the pipes. On the side, two chambers clanked and the noise of gears whirling sounded.

Shua. Smoke seeped out from the chambers before the hatch thudded, slowly opening. The thick smoke covered what was inside but it wasn’t long before it dissipated.

Two bodies were lying inside!

Emanuel strode with apt attention. He saw the bodies twitching, ready to be awakened. He quickly got two pairs of clothes and waited with great anticipation.

Even thinking with his toes, the shadow knew Emanuel was nervous inside.

Finally, after a long time, the bodies moved. Their eyes slowly opened. They were still blurry as if they were trying to process what was happening. But they soon found a shadow standing in front of them which gave them a huge fright!

“Hehehe. Good morning, Pretties!” Emmanuel guffawed, finding the stone in his heart was lifted. From this moment, every cloud was cast away and the sun shone upon him.

In his eyes, the figure of Illinois and Aurora scrambling to wear clothes and dying with embarrassment was fulfilling. He strode over and hugged the duo.

“What happened, Dad?” Aurora recovered first and scanned the room. “What are these things.”

Illinois also discovered his surroundings and touched everything he saw. Emanuel could only shake his head. His equipment might be dangerous things but it would never set off without his identification so everything was pretty safe for them to poke around.

Aurora grinned, finding her brother’s actions funny yet she was suspicious inside. She looked at her father and ultimately thought about the last thing she remembered.

“I should have died. But I’m here with Dad and my brother. There’s no way I can live with a fist on my face and a sniper at my back.” Having thought of the organization, she grumbled inside while trying to familiarize herself with this new environment.

“Do you want to eat?” Emanuel was rubbing Illinois’ hair. The duo felt their stomach protesting and giggled.

“Let’s go.” The father took their hands and weaved his head and shoulders slightly. Inside him, the shadow could hear the happy song Emanuel singing in his head. This guy really likes to dance whenever he’s happy, the shadow grumbled.

“Where’s mom by the way?” The trio saw the bright sky and covered their eyes with their hands. Aurora looked back to see an ordinary building and couldn’t believe how high-tech its inside. It seemed to blend with the busy street.

Emanuel winked. “She’s home cooking.”

“What food?” Illinois salivated and Aurora’s ears perked up.

“Garlic shrimp, Cordon Bleu, and Macaroni Soup.” Thinking about it, the trio gulp down and closed their watery mouth. They drove quickly lest their drool flooded the car.

When they reached a house, Illinois sniffed like a dog and rushed toward the dining area. He saw the food prepared on the table and pounced on it. “We are going to eat to our heart’s content today!”

Aurora entered, followed by Emanuel. She was taken aback by the scene of his brother’s familiarity with the house. Her eyes narrowed but she didn’t say anything. She just took a seat and waited. Because there was still someone missing.

Not long after, a figure came out from the kitchen carrying a cake with both hands. The figure paused in shock before a blooming smile appeared on her face. At the corner of her eyes, a glistening tear could be seen.

“You are here.” Emanuel beckoned at her with a wide smile.

Cleo suppressed the lump in her throat and quietly wiped her tears. “Yes, I am here.”

“We are here.”

The family of four filled their stomach with good food. They told jokes and stories, and soon, the house was covered with a great atmosphere. Their hearts were contented.

…

Unlike Emanuel’s current situation, the nation of Kimininas was having a headache. Because of the previous incident, many foreign nations personnel got attracted by the mystery of it and tried to investigate. But instead of gaining any leads, they discovered an oil supply instead!

“From the observation of the researchers, there’s an oil supply with a size of a river underneath the old City Q!” Many of the upper echelons of the country were overjoyed.

But some of them frowned. “However, chasing those foreigners will be hard. They will likely stay to gain benefits. Remember the desert people, they were rich with oil in the past they almost became a superpower. Today, their current situation is worrying due to the dried-up supply of oil in their country.”

“Getting benefits is okay. The problem is those yellow people! They might likely want a lion's share!”

“Those greedy bastards! They are already encroaching on our territory as if it was their own backyard! Just last time, they bombed our fishermen to death! They even claimed a few of our islands!”

“Don’t forget the other superpowers too. They say they were going to help us but all of it was just diplomacy without action! It’s nothing but their farts!”

One of them said with a low voice. “That’s the problem. They might hostage us by using this gold mine. If there comes a war, we can’t win without their help.”

Everyone felt powerless. The president shook his head and stared at the screen carefully. There were many thoughts in his mind.

“There’s a traitor, Mother Teresa, terrorist, Supreme Lopez, the huge hole… This time an underground oil supply…”

“Is this the sign, Juan…” A mixture of lament and desire flashed on his face for a second before being replaced with a calm look. He looked around the room, seeing everyone watching him from their peripheral vision.

Leading with an iron fist made him appealing to the masses but frightening to the officials. Seeing their slightly frightened countenance, he nodded inside.

“Everyone.” His sonorous voice sounded, stopping all the noise.

“Be prepared. This is an opportunity for our country to rise.”

…