Lucy led him through another elevator. When the doors opened, they were no longer underground but inside the sleek lobby of what looked like a corporate workplace. Then he saw the logo.
'GH Security…' he muttered inwardly.
GH Security was one of the biggest firms in the city. But on second thought, something was off. He wasn't in no corporate workplace, or an ordinary one at least.
'This is a cover.' Jack thought, 'It now makes sense. This is the company. On the outside, it is an ordinary security company, but in reality, it is a place where superhumans work.'
Jack followed Lucy outside, noting how normal everything seemed—employees with ID scanners, polished glass doors, polite chatter. On the way, he quietly used his appraisal skill.
On the way, Jack kept using his appraisal skill, noting the details of each person in his head.
[Name: Daniel Cruz]
[Occupation: Accountant]
[Race: 41% Gnome, 18% Dwarven, 10% Elven...]
[Kill count: 0]
He nearly laughed. Not a single person appeared human. Every scan showed hybrids or question marks. Eventually after many scans, Jack had to accept that was the real reality.
'Just like the dream, there are no real humans in this world.' Thinking back of the superhumans he saw inside the facility though, he wondered, 'Does everyone have some sort of ability too that they are hiding?'
Jack wanted to ask Lucy, but on second thought, decided not to. 'I cannot bring suspicions to myself. I need to figure out more of this world by myself.'
Soon, a sharp ray of sunlight suddenly shone on Jack's face, startling him and his thoughts.
The smell of grilled meat and brewed coffee entered his nose as it wafted in the air. Opening his eyes, he saw sunlight shining down an open courtyard dotted with colorful stalls and umbrella-shaded shared tables. Laughter and chatter echoed as people in office attire, vacation outfits and even students in uniforms ate casually.
Jack could barely control his expressions as a chill ran through his spine, and his feet started to move on their own. It felt wrong as though he was merely stepping out of a shadowy lair straight onto a university campus.
Jack, having lived in this city his whole life, for 24 years, knew this food court well. It was one of the city's favorite hangout spots and a popular romantic hangout for couples.
Jack squinted, feeling mixed emotions, then he stopped toward the end and gripped the glass wall just before the end as he was greeted by the familiar, beautiful view of the city stretching all the way to the western coast.
It was strange and unsettling to realize he had been here countless times with his friends since his childhood days, and yet this place was dine and dinner of suspicious individuals all along?!
Anyone in his shoes would be shocked, and that couldn't even begin to measure to the absurd reality he had seen in over 24 hours.
Turning around, he grabbed a tray and followed Lucy toward the nearest stall.
Now that he put it into perspective, even though Lucy seemed like a pushover, this was Lucy's world.
Even for her, this strange blend of secrecy and normalcy seemed perfectly ordinary. She must be an excellent individual while he in comparison had a life he couldn't even begin to compare.
Smiling, Jack felt like staring long and hard at the blue skies as the air swept through him.
'A hidden world…It's as if aliens were real all along. No, isn't this world like that already?'
Soon, they found a table and sat down to eat. Lucy unwrapped her burger while Jack absentmindedly scanned the crowd again, his eyes flicking with the appraisal skill.
Using the appraisal skill, he had learned how to distinguish superhumans and ordinary people.
'Ordinary people are around Level 1 to 15,' he noted. 'But the ones like Lucy—superhumans—are above 16.'
He also understood one thing with chilling certainty — no ordinary organization could have built this. The sheer scale, the technology, the secrecy — it all spoke of power beyond anything he'd imagined.
There had to be giants behind it. Influential people. Perhaps even the government itself. No structure this massive could exist unnoticed. No empire this secret could thrive without state permission.
If he was right, he would not be even surprised.
While eating, Jack kept using his appraisal skill, sometimes forgetting to chew as he scanned the crowd.
But then a soft ding broke his thoughts, and stared at the system, he hadn't noticed, but his stamina bar had been totally expended.
[Stamina: Exhausted.]
[Note: Eat until your stamina is totally restored!]
He winced and rubbed his eyes.
"Does your head hurt?" Lucy asked but noticed his bloodshot eyes.
"My eyes, yeah," he said, half-laughing, while noticing something like stares, "Let's go back after this."
"Yes, Sir."
'… she stands out!!!'
Jack immediately screamed in his mind, making him want to cover his face. The girl's eyes were wide and soft like puppies and her proportions were breathtaking.
He also knew from the first time but Lucy was undeniably pretty and cute. She was the type that triggered the protective instinct in men. So, she might not realize or was acting oblivious, but plenty of men were looking at her and then him, as if he was a problem that had to be uprooted!
'What if someone I know sees me here?!'
Jack was just thinking this when a familiar laughter cut through the chatter from a few tables away, making him suddenly show a serious expression.
A few tables away sat Cindy — one of his classmates — laughing with her friends.
' No way…What are they doing here?!'
Jack's eyeballs attempted to look back. He ducked lower, trying to shield his face, but then Lucy accidentally knocked over her drink. It splashed across the table, instantly drawing attention.
Jack swallowed hard, realizing the consequences of being seen here.
He had plenty of acquaintances and a few close friends he could count on one hand, but some of his reputation to others was that of a social butterfly. He was inherently introverted and quiet but he could turn his social skills anytime. That usually meant he ran into people everywhere.
Normally, he wouldn't care about spotting someone familiar outside but more often than not he just wanted to be at peace and stroll around without talking to anyone. And right now, with Lucy beside him, the thought of someone he knows seeing him made his stomach tighten.
Jack ate and ate, diligently, until his stamina bar was finally filled, when Lucy, while unwrapping a burger, knocked over her drink, splashing it across the table, drawing everyone's eyes.
"Miss, are you alright?"
"Careful now, angel, you'll get hurt."
"Are you here alone?"
Several men rushed to help her, acting like knights in cheap suits. Jack wanted to scream as he instantly buried his face in the table and pretended to sleep.
'Of all times—!'
Curious onlookers tried to see the situation as whispers and murmurs rippled through the rest of the crowd. Then they saw her under the sun.
"Is she a model?"
"She's so beautiful. The sunlight makes her look like an angel--myy angel."
"Hey, do think that's…her boyfriend?" a girl asked.
"What a sorry ass of a boyfriend if he is. Look at him just sitting there sleeping while other men are gonna take her and rightfully so." Another girl said.
'How clumsy can this idiot be?!' Jack could hear everything and was screaming in his mind.
Jack almost bolted out right there and then, but it was too late, so in a split second he immediately covered his face with his hands like a turtle and pressed his forehead against the table while pretending to be asleep on the table.
Before anyone could react, she shoved the men aside with surprising strength, earning a wave of gasps and laughter as the men had their eyes wide in shock.
"Did she just push three guys at once?"
"Hilarious!"
"They must be pretty weak."
Lucy then knelt beside Jack's table and talked.
Jack still had his face-down on the table pretending to be asleep the whole charade and could feel his stomach twist between embarrassment and awe.
'Great you idiot. Just go away!!!' he was screaming.
But he obviously couldn't bring himself to say his thoughts aloud.
"I'm alright Lucy. Can you give me bring me some water instead. The type that sparkles." Jack told Lucy and thought. 'And never go back!'
"Yes, sir, immediately."
When Jack could hear her gone, Jack gritted his teeth. In the next second, he rose from his seat with a purpose but now his shirt stretched upwards covering his face as he bolted like a madman.
The crowd froze, then burst into laughter as he tripped mid-run and lost the cover on his face just as he was about to leave everyone's sight.
"He's fast!"
"Reminds me of that funny break-up last month."
The courtyard was actually well-known as a romantic hangout. Thus, the people there occasionally became an audience for public break-ups, heartfelt confessions and sometimes even marriage proposals.
So such weird things were actually more frequent than one would expect.
"Looks like he's cheating and didn't want to be caught."
"Or maybe he's someone famous?"
The girls in Cindy's group gossiped. Then one girl nudged Cindy's elbow and whispered.
"But don't you think that guy looked like Jack?"
Unbeknownst to Jack, Cindy's eyes have also followed the running figure until he tripped, lost his cover briefly, and disappeared.