Last night at Chioma's place, Daiyu insisted that her feelings for Ivan were genuine and that she intended to express them to him. Chioma remained unconvinced, but she nonetheless advised her friend on how to articulate her emotions.
After Ivan was released, he left the police station with Chioma and Daiyu. A taxi pulled up to them; it was the vehicle Chioma had arranged for herself. She claimed she had an urgent matter to attend to and apologised to Ivan for not being able to accompany him with Daiyu. She boarded the taxi, and it drove off, leaving Daiyu alone with Ivan.
Daiyu embraced Ivan. She said, "Thank you for retrieving my phone."
Ivan sheepishly patted her shoulders. He replied, "It was nothing. No need for such theatrics."
Daiyu pulled away from Ivan and lightly pushed him on the chest. She was exasperated by his nonchalance. She said, "Don't dismiss it like that. You were almost killed."
"Killed?" Ivan reflected on his successful confrontation the previous night. "Perhaps," Ivan shrugged.
Daiyu looked Ivan directly in the eyes. Ivan felt uneasy under her persistent gaze and turned his eyes away.
He said, "You are making me uncomfortable." He sighed and added, "I suppose you are right. No, not suppose; you are indeed correct. I just felt embarrassed by your gratitude."
Daiyu smiled, pleased that Ivan acknowledged his reluctance to accept thanks.
She said, "You need to rest. Your eyes appear sunken."
"The mosquitoes were a nuisance," Ivan conceded, agreeing with Daiyu's observation.
The taxi Daiyu had booked online arrived at the agreed meeting point. Daiyu and Ivan boarded the vehicle. The driver transported them to Ivan's apartment building.
At Section 2.6, in an office situated on the topmost floor of a high-rise building, Lady Flux and five other special characters were convened for a meeting. They were there to review the number of special characters who had emerged following the exploit Merlin_13 had pulled the previous day.
The characters sat behind an elliptically shaped table, save for one individual. The excluded person stood before a large screen that the other characters were also observing. The large screen was mounted on the wall.
The character who stood before the screen possessed the air of an 18th-century scholar. He wore a blue linen shirt with a brown waistcoat over it and breeches below. He wore a brown double-breasted frock coat over the shirt and waistcoat. On his feet were a pair of long white socks, concealed beneath the breeches, and a pair of brown leather shoes.
Displayed on the screen were numerous faces. These were all special characters who had emerged from yesterday, after Merlin_13's stunt, up to the present moment. The characters on the screen were those who had been successfully traced and verified.
The individual resembling an 18th-century scholar addressed the seated special characters. He stated, "7,123 special characters have emerged subsequent to the 'big stunt' yesterday. Over one thousand special characters chose to engage in criminal activity, and more than ninety per cent of them met their demise."
"Less than five per cent of those who resorted to crime have been apprehended, while the others have gone into hiding, now wanted criminals. Most of the remaining individuals have opted to continue living their ordinary lives; some have willingly joined humanity's liberation force."
"The characters I have accounted for are those we were able to locate. Approximately five hundred special characters remain unaccounted for. However, commendable efforts are being made to locate the rest."
Lady Flux's expression remained impassive as the 18th-century-looking scholar addressed her and the other special characters.
She parted her lips and said to the scholar, "You did not introduce yourself."
She had arrived before everyone else present in the room. She was the highest-ranked character there, and none of the others were ranked at the Pillar of Calamity tier like her. When the other special characters arrived, though not all at once, each of them greeted her with deference. Somehow, it had escaped everyone's notice that while they knew her, she may not know their names.
The character who resembled an 18th-century scholar placed his right hand on his chest and bowed. He said, "Lady Flux, please forgive my oversight; I am Anderson_Shoeberry."
As the scholar introduced himself, his avatar name appeared on the screen: Anderson_Shoeberry.
Lady Flux said, "No offence taken. I merely wish to commend your team's efforts. Excellent documentation. You are doing a commendable job of keeping Section 2 safe. However, there is a significant flaw in your operations."
The special characters seated at the table with Lady Flux turned their heads to look at her.
Lady Flux maintained her cool composure as she spoke. She said, "In our collective interest, it is not beneficial that over ninety per cent of special characters who resorted to crime after gaining powers perished within twenty-four hours."
"No, it is detrimental. We require substantial assistance in the endeavour to liberate humanity from this wretched game. We need considerable help to save humanity from the uncertain fate linked to dying within this game. Those characters who died may be undesirable, but they were not useless."
"Anderson_Shoeberry, your name reminded me of information I read about you some time ago. When you acquired your powers two years ago, you did not immediately join the liberation effort. You utilised the combination of your innate ability and the special abilities of your class to expand your business. You were discovered thanks to envious competitors and persuaded to join the movement."
"You were resistant to joining the movement. Let us hypothesise that at that period, the recruiters were ruthless with stubborn special characters, and they murdered you. There is a high probability that the current situation in Section 2 would be considerably worse. I understand you might argue that you were treated kindly because you were not a criminal. But the truth is that competing with your powers against ordinary people constitutes a form of crime."
"Everyone deserves a chance, it is true. But not everyone deserves a chance." Lady Flux turned her head to meet the gazes of the people seated with her at the table who were staring at her.
A couple of individuals calmly averted their gaze, while the others nervously held their stare for a brief moment before looking away.