Chapter 10
They walked out of the room and into a long corridor lined with automatic doors. Alex wore a grey shirt and black pants—clothes provided for him by Ai.
"Hey! Is anyone awake?" Jing shouted, rousing the others in their group.
Suddenly, one of the doors opened automatically, revealing James, who stepped out while yawning widely, as if he had just woken from a deep sleep.
"Nice nap?" Jing asked, feeling similarly refreshed after napping in the soft bed in their room.
"Like a baby in her mother's embrace," James replied, stretching his body upward. He then noticed Alex standing beside Jing. "Looks like he's awake. Hey, I'm James."
James extended his left hand, inviting Alex to shake it. Alex flinched, staring at the hand before him, unsure how to respond.
"You should shake his hand," Jing suggested. "It's a form of courtesy."
Still confused, Alex finally extended his left hand and awkwardly shook James's hand from the back. "Hi, I'm Alexander."
The handshake was awkward, and James thought, 'What's wrong with him?'
"Sorry about that, James. He's lost his memory and is missing some common sense, so please be patient with him," Jing explained. "He'll be joining us on this journey, so make sure to get along with him."
James hesitated, unsure if it was wise to bring Alex along on their journey, but he couldn't go against Jing's wishes.
"Okay, captain," James said, giving a mock salute as if accepting an order.
Just then, one of the doors opened again, and out walked the twins, looking beaten up. They had been fighting through the night after the film ended.
Maria had chosen Mario over Luigi, prompting Larry to mock Barry when he saw the film's conclusion. In a fit of anger, Barry jumped Larry from the other side of the bed and started punching him back. Larry retaliated, and the two of them ended up fighting all night.
"What happened to both of you?" Jing asked, concerned that something serious had occurred in the room.
"We just got a little heated; it was nothing bad, just a personal matter," Larry replied, showing off his blackened left eye.
"Oh, okay. But please tell me if something serious happens," Jing said, still worried about them but feeling helpless since they refused to share what had happened the night before.
"Yes, sir." Larry's face was full of pain, but a smug look was revealed on his face. "Heh, I told you Maria was going to choose Mario."
"Shut up." Barry's face was full of wounds from the punches Larry had thrown at him. His face showed a look of frustration, as if he had been cheated on.
Alex looked at the twins with a puzzled expression, wondering why they were fighting. Was it a fight for power or something? But that was where he was wrong. Both of them were just fighting over some film that they weren't even involved with, but he didn't know that, so only his
Imagination was fueling his theory.
Another door opened, and it was the room both Maya and Leia were staying in. They both walked out of the room. Their eyes were red, like they had been crying all night. They hadn't been able to properly sleep and only watched the Cyberpunk film. They were crying after finishing the last Episode.
They hadn't been able to properly sleep at night, imagining the Cyberpunk film, thinking about what different course of action each character took.
But they could only imagine because it was just a film; they couldn't interfere.
"Why are both of you crying? Did you fight?" Jing noticed their red eyes and asked them if they were okay.
"We just watched something, and it was beautiful. Right Maya? I can't believe it ended like that." Leia looked at Maya; her reddened eyes were barely open.
"Why did they kill Rebecca like that?" Maya still couldn't get over seeing the film.
Alex looked at the two people in front of him. He didn't know what was going on, but all he could think was that these guys were 'oddballs': a monster guarding him at his side, a guy that stared directly into his soul when he woke up (James was only the normal one so far), twins fighting about something, and two women crying.
It was an odd group he was in. Jing couldn't help but feel disappointed about the lack of dignity.
All of them were gathered in the corridor, just standing there. James quickly raised his hand towards Jing, asking something of him. "Sir, what's the plan now? We have to move on to the negotiation."
"Ah, right, the negotiation with the dwarves. Agh, it's such a hassle, right uncle—" When she looked at her uncle for confirmation on how annoying it was, a man beside Jing, Alex, was just standing there like he was some kind of Greek God.
She looked at Alex's face and was charmed by how beautiful it was. When she took a closer look at him, she couldn't help but look at his well-developed, broad shoulders. It was like seeing a Greek God descending among mortals, blessing them with his presence alone.
Her eyes were sparkling just from looking at him directly. Her mouth was drooling; it was like when she was little, having a crush from a distance.
"Hey, Leia, are you still there? Hellooo?" Maya tried to snap her awake, seeing her face drooling in front of the people.
Leia snapped out of her daydream and found that people were looking at her weirdly. But among the group, she was too focused on Alex's reaction, and what she saw broke her.
Alex saw Leia looking around his body, like a predator assessing how much meat it could eat after hunting. Alex felt chills all over his body; it was weird being lusted after by someone.
Seeing Alex's reaction to her, her body was drained of life. Just thinking about being branded as a pervert, especially by a man, was something unimaginable for her.
Her body froze in place; it was like her remaining dignity was shattered.