Only Garret, Cubie-chan, and the three men in jumpsuits remained inside the teleport centre hall.
The thugs glared, their fingers coiled around the barrels, gleaming under a warm morning sunlight.
"Wait for my command,"
He gripped the side of the fare counter, with his left hand.
His right finger stabbed towards Garret and Cubie-chan.
His voice was firm, sharp enough to make his underlings flinch back.
Then—
"Fire!"
The sound of the machine gun roared through the air.
Bullets ricocheted everywhere with each burst of fire.
Garret and Cubie-chan dodged the relentless rain of bullets that poured towards them.
Garret's footsteps slammed on the glowing neon green floor, as Cubie-chan floated after him.
"Garret-kun! So many bullets hit you, but you look fine, how?"
Cubie-chan glanced at Garret, her core tilting towards him as he just passed a pillar in the hall.
"Cubie... haven't I told you already? I have protection."
Garret panted, feeling the bullets bouncing off his back.
"You are bulletproof? Why run?"
Cubie-chan conjured glowing holographic hands, clenching her fists, ready to battle.
"Even if we fight now, we might have the initial advantage, but the risk is high. So, let's find a quiet place and make a plan."
Cubie-chan's core hummed with restrained energy.
The acrid scent of gunpowder smoke drifted into her olfactory sensors.
Following the thunderous footsteps, they reached a corridor leading to an underground tunnel in the corner of the hall.
The tunnel was a system of pipes supporting the elevator's operation, its interior pitch black, devoid of any light.
There was likely no other choice. Turning back meant facing a hail of bullets.
They had to try going in.
"Let's go in, Cubie,"
Garret hissed, his index finger gesturing towards the corridor.
"Is your phone's flashlight on, Garret?"
"If I turn on the flashlight, they'll see us," Garret replied, his hand clutching the pocket holding his phone.
"Then what should we do?"
As Cubie-chan finished speaking, Garret began to delve deep into his thoughts.
Hurry up, Garret. There's no time. Whatever you can think of, just use it.
The realization struck his mind, a smile bloomed on the corner of his lips.
"Oh! Cubie-chan, you can cast the Illuminate spell, right?"
Cubie-chan core pulsed, before answering him, "Yes... yes, I can."
A breeze blew around her core before she continued, "You want me to use it now?"
"Yes, please do," Garret said, gesturing with his hand as if giving permission.
Seeing the opportunity, she charged her energy little by little.
An aura of light surrounded her as she prepared to speak the incantation, her face still and focused.
⎈ ILLUMINATE ⎈
A flash of light flickered around her after she cast the spell. A faint, ethereal shimmering sound emanated from the incantation.
"Let's go, Garret-kun,"
Cubie-chan chan said.
Garret nodded and followed the glowing cube into the pitch-black tunnel.
The same footsteps echoed along the blue light that sliced through the pitch-black passageway. The musty scent of the tunnel brushed against their noses, carried by the still, enclosed air.
"Do you think we'll be safe here, Garret?"
"It's better than the open area where they were spraying bullets at us," he replied.
Their voices reverberated through the silent tunnel, the light in Cubie-chan's core to flicker into the shape of stars.
I'm starting to wonder what those scumbags are doing now. ✧.✧
――✧ Chamber of the Authority ✧――
"Heyy, where the heck did they go?"
The tall jumpsuit-clad man said, scanning his eyes around the hall.
"How am I supposed to know? Just now you guys were still running and shooting at them!"
The gang leader shouted, slapping his forehead loudly.
Before the short jumpsuit-clad man warned everyone to be careful of the incoming danger.
"Uh, boss, just wanted to say that the police are after us,"
"Oh, Great Nine monarchs!"
Everyone exclaimed in unison.
Their bodies froze, almost making them stumble to the ground.
Their breaths shortened upon hearing that warning.
The eerily empty air only made their skin crawl.
"Then spread out and search everywhere!"
The leader pointed, his voice firm.
"Yes, boss!"
As soon as the words were spoken, the three men scattered to search for Garret and Cubie-chan in every corner. The neon green floor's light reflected with each heavy step they took, shining into the gang leader's eyes.
"Oyyy, where did they go?!"
――✧ Chamber of the Authority ✧――
"Garret, there's something I'm curious about,"
Cubie-chan tilted her core towards Garret, her mouth forming a small pout of inquiry.
"Yes, Cubie?" Garret responded, his hand gently stroking her glowing core.
"I know you have protection, but what's the principle behind it?"
After the sweet, soft high-pitched voice reached Garret's ears, he took a deep breath before explaining.
"Oh, that? What I'm wearing is an invisible bulletproof layer. Inside, it's made of carbon fibers and transparent polymers arranged very densely."
He swallowed slightly before continuing,
"That's why bullets bounce off."
But after he finished explaining, Cubie-chan had already fallen asleep on his shoulder.
This caused Garret to put his hand to his head gently, trying to wake Cubie-chan up.
And that, everyone, this why we shouldn't show off how smart we were too much.
Cubie-chan jolted awake after the warm hand stroked her core.
But then, a notification sound vibrated from his phone. He took out his phone and opened it to read.
"Attention all students: Due to an error in the announcement of the Cosmic Ranger Academy morning assembly time, we are postponing the time from 07:30 AM to 08:00 AM. Thank you."
After receiving the news, his hand holding the phone tightened, and he snapped the fingers.
"Looks like we have another 1 hour and 15 minutes then."
His gaze drifted towards Cubie-chan, and her core pulsed.
Garret picked up his phone and started playing a video.
It was security camera footage revealing the appearance of the three thugs.
Cubie-chan leaned her core closer to watch the video, her eyes widening.
When Garret's fingers zoomed in on the jumpsuits of the men, a silver emblem became visible.
"Haha! I've figured out how to deal with them,"
Garret's voice echoed through the silent tunnel.