Dark Universe & Forbidden Love (28 page)

Jason went back to Earth right
after he sent away Gloria. When he walked into the slum at nightfall, he had no
idea that Tioto’s gunmen were watching him. Jason made his way through narrow
alleys, heading to Lilen’s house.

“Jason,
it is me, Lisania.” A voice suddenly came into Jason’s head.

Jason
looked around and only saw several children picking up glass bottles from a
trash pile. He also checked rooftops and caught a gunman peeking at him.

“Jason,
I am not around you. You can’t see me.” The voice came again.

Now
Jason was confused. He knew Lisania didn’t have eyes and he couldn’t explain
how she was now talking directly into his brain.

“What?
You are Lisania?” Jason said in surprise.

“Yes,
Jason you don’t need to speak it out. Just think what you want to say and then
I will know.”

“OK.
This is weird.” Jason sighed and kept walking.

“Jason,
my eyes grew back and now I have the power to read minds.”

“What
are you talking about? Your eyes regenerated?” Jason was shocked.

“Yes, I
don’t know why. It just happened.”

“And you
can read my mind and have this conversation without seeing me?” Jason thought.

“Yes.”

“Wow. I
am surprised. I feel happy for you. At least, now you can see.” Jason heaved a
sigh of relief.

“Thank
you, Jason. That is all because of you.”

“I
didn’t do anything.” Jason smiled.

“You
just don’t know.”

“Lisania,
is everything OK? Why can’t we have this conversation face to face?” Jason
wondered.

“Jason,
I am sorry. I have some bad news.”

“About
Lilen?”

“Yes,
Tioto abducted her and they killed Truck.”

Jason
suddenly stopped, his hands shaking out of anger. It took him several seconds
to calm down.

“What
they want?”

“Tioto
wanted to use her as a bargaining chip to ask you to find me.”

“How is
my grandma? Where is she?”

“I don’t
know.”

“What do
you mean you don’t know? You can read others’ minds and you don’t know.”

“If
someone was thinking about her, yes, I can find her.”

“So you
don’t even know whether she is live or not.”

“No, but
they won’t kill her.”

“You
don’t know that.”

“Jason,
I can find her and I need you to do something.”

“I will
do anything to save my grandma.”

“Good.
You go to your grandma’s place. Those gunmen will take you to see the dealer
Tioto. Then you ask for the life proof for Lilen. The moment they provide it, I
will read their minds and find out where she is.”

“OK. How
did this happen? Why drug dealer got involved?”

“It was
a long story. Tioto and his men found out I was a Hylocan. Then I had no choice
but to work with them. I tried to keep your grandma safe.”

Jason
let out a long sigh.

“I was
worried that Glycan would find you, but not things like this. Do you have any
plan to save my grandma?”

“They
will ask you to find me. You take them to me. I will tell you the location
later.”

“That is
easy.” Jason flashed a stiff smile.

“Jason,
I love you.”

“You
think I am in the mood for this?”

“I just
want to let you know.”

“Thank
you.” Jason sighed.

“OK. I
will talk to you later.” Lisania’s voice was gone.

Twenty minutes later, Jason
arrived at Lilen’s house. When he stepped into the living room, he almost threw
up. Dozens of rats thronged what was left of Truck. If Lisania didn’t tell him,
he couldn’t even tell it was Truck.

A man
with a rifle on his back walked up the steps and said, “You must be wondering
where your grandma is.”

Jason
turned around and saw five gunmen around the porch. Another three walked into
the living room from the back. They sandwiched Jason in between.

“Take it
easy, man. You want to see her again, right?” Another man asked with an evil
smile.

“You are
damn right.” Jason shouted angrily.

“Follow
me.”

They
walked through the neighborhood and entered into a two-floor tattered house
looking just like any other house in the slum. As they stepped into the living
room, Jason first saw a small man in a chef outfit decorating cookies. That was
Tioto. Then he saw another pudgy man sinking in an old-fashioned sofa.

“Just a
second.” Tioto said gently as he slowly squeezed some cream on those cookies.

Jason
had no time or appetite, tapping his feet on the floor impatiently.

“Did you
see Truck?” Tioto asked nicely.

“Yes,
part of him, if that is what you meant.” Jason said angrily.

“I hope
this can save us from some bullshit.” Tioto smiled at Jason.

“Where
is my grandma?” Jason asked directly.

“She is
safe. Want a cookie?” Tioto said as he carefully picked up a cookie.

“I want
to see her.” Jason said coldly, ignoring the cookie.

“I
understand you need the proof of life. Heylon, please.” Tioto said as he
glanced over at Heylon.

Heylon
pushed a button on a remote control. On the big screen in the living room, it
showed Lilen lying on the ground, covered in blood.

“Don’t
you worry. Most of the blood was from Truck. But she is bleeding. So we better
hurry.” Tioto said gently.

“What do
you want?” Jason said hastily.

“I know
you brought the girl here and I believe you can find her for us.”

Just at
the moment, Jason heard Lisania’s voice in his brain. She told him the location
and she was ready.

“How do
I know you will let my grandma go?” Jason asked calmly.

“Oh, I
will. Trust me.” Tioto said kindly.

“I just
want to remind you. We all know Lisania’s power, if you don’t play along, you
will play alone.” Heylon said decisively.

Jason
paused for several seconds and said, “I know several places she might go.”

“Point
it out on the map.” Tioto said leisurely as he took out a map from a drawer.

Jason
pinpointed those locations and said, “Now, set my grandma free.”

“Hold
on, big guy. You think we are stupid or something. This Hylocan bitch can read
minds. It means before my men could even get close to her, she can just
disappear. But it seemed that she trusts you. So this is what will happen. You
will go to find her and use this on her.” Tioto said and handed Jason a pen.

“After
you see her, press the button on the pen and it will shoot out a needle to
paralyse her for some time.” Heylon said easily.

“After
that, you will call us and we will take care of the rest and you will see your
grandma.” Tioto said politely and gave Jason a phone.

“Do I
need to tell you we know where you are all the time?” Heylon smirked.

“The
faster you get it done, the sooner you will see your grandma.” Tioto said
nicely.

“And I
suggest you hurry on this. A lady as old as her may not have long.” Heylon said
caringly.

“If
anything happened to my grandma, I will burn this place down to the ground.”
Jason said decisively.

“I hate
to disappoint you. I have heard that many times in my life. Kiddo, don’t let
your emotion get in the way.” Tioto said patiently.

Jason
gave Tioto an angry stare, turned around and stepped out of the house. While he
was heading to that location, he didn’t hear anything from Lisania. 30 minutes
later, he arrived at the location Lisania send him. It was a torched
three-floor house, its walls falling apart, its roof broken. Jason paused for
several seconds, waiting for Lisania to give him some instructions. But there
was nothing. He let out a long sigh and walked up on the charred stairs. The
cement interior of the building was covered by soot and there was nothing in
the room. Jason walked around and found a piece of white paper and a flashlight
hanging on a wall. Jason stepped closer to the wall and gazed at the paper. It
read “Hide in the basement and boom!”

Jason
rushed to the basement and found a remote control and a sewer blueprint. He
picked up the remote control and looked carefully at the blueprint. Then he
pressed the button on the remote control.

“Boom!
Boom! Boom!” A series of explosions leveled the building.

As soon as Gloria got back to
Sylareon, she had Jason’s blood analysed in an academic institution where she
used to work during vacations. It turned out that Jason’s blood contained a
very rare bacteria that mainly resided in the host bone marrow and bound to the
peripheral nerve in bones. Because of its connection with the nerve system, the
host’s neural activity could trigger its downstream reaction which in turns
released the chemicals that boost the host’s physiques. As the bacteria
propagated, it slowly consumed bone marrow and would eventually kill the host.
This was exactly what Gloria worried and there was no information regarding how
to remove the bacteria, so Gloria ran the simulation and found out that the
cure was the blood of Tiegotteen. It was more like a creature in a fairy tale.
It lived in the underwater forests and moved like lightning. Very few were able
to see one and even fewer managed to catch one.

Gloria
knew there was no way she could catch one on her own, but with the help of
Jason and his friends, they would stand a much better chance. Thinking about
this, she called Jason, but he didn’t pick it up.

“Maybe
he is taking a shower, listening to music, playing with his grandma and friends.”
Gloria murmured to herself. But the more she thought about it, the more she
worried about Jason. She decided to go to see Jason.

Gloria
knew she didn’t have time to waste on public transport. She didn’t have friends
to ask for help and her few relatives were either as poor as her family or even
poorer. Running out of options, she called Klaycon and asked for a favor. It
was the last thing she wanted to do in her life, but when it came to save
Jason, she could do anything.

Half an
hour later, Klaycon piloted a combat vessel and landed it at the edge of the
city just like Gloria instructed him.

Gloria
rushed into the vessel and met Klaycon in the bridge.

“Hi,
Gloria. I hope this meets your requirement.” Klaycon said gently.

“The
combat armor suit?” Gloria asked coldly.

“At the
back. I brought two, just in case you break one.”

“Thank
you.” Gloria said sincerely.

“So, you
don’t want to tell me what this about?” Klaycon asked caringly.

“Trust
me. You better don’t know.”

“Is this
having something to do with Jason?” Klaycon asked coldly.

Gloria
paused for several seconds and said, “Klaycon. One day I will pay you back.”

“Gloria,
you remember one thing. I am always here for you. Besides, it is an honor to be
used by a beautiful lady like you. By the way, do you remember this place?”
Klaycon said as he looked around at the plain ground.

“No.”

“It used
to be a playground for kids.”

“And?”
Gloria was not in the mood for this.

“Nothing.
Nothing.” Klaycon smiled reluctantly.

“I gotta
go.” Gloria said hastily.

“Yea, of
course.” Klaycon said as he walked out of the bridge.

It took
Gloria less than 30 minutes to reach Earth. Before the vessel entered the
atmosphere, she called Jason again and Jason answered.

“Jason,
are you alright? I called you before, but you didn’t answer.”

“I was
knocked out by the explosion.”

“What?”

“I am
trapped right now, in a sewer.” Jason said uneasily.

“I
thought you went to visit your grandma in law.” Gloria said in surprise.

“Yes, I
did. It is a long story. Where are you right now?”

“I am
about to enter Earth atmosphere.”

“Why are
you here?” Jason asked in confusion.

“It’s a
long story. I will tell you when I see you. Right now I am scanning the planet
for the badge you have and I will be there in less than 10 minutes.”

“Sounds
good.”

“I will
call you back.”

Jason
was so excited and happy to hear Gloria’s voice. He literally screamed after he
turned off the badge. When he said he was trapped, he meant every word.
Apparently, Lisania didn’t really check the deserted sewer system that
connected to the basement. The explosion knocked him out and when he woke up,
he soon realized that the blueprint was out of date by a lot. All the outlets
were blocked by either concrete or trash.

Gloria
had the vessel suspend above the ground and jumped out of it in a Glycan combat
armor suit. It was a 10 meters tall robot.

As Jason
was wondering whether Lisania saved his grandma, he heard something right above
him.

“Thump,
thump, thump.” Something big was moving closer and the ground was trembling.

Jason’s
badge was flashing and he answered it.

“Honey,
step away, like 10 meters.” Gloria said from a combat armor suit.

“Got
you.”

“Boom!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!” Gloria was firing at the ground with the cannon on the
armor suit.

Jason
felt like he was in the middle of an earthquake. He couldn’t even stand on his
feet.

Gloria
quickly dug into the ground and now she was just meters away from Jason. She
stopped fired and began to dig with hands.

“Bang!
Bang! BAM!” Gloria punched through layers of concrete with huge robotic hands.

Beams of
moonlight rayed into the underground. Then a huge robotic hand thrust in and
peeled the opening wider. Gloria repeated this process several times, and then
she laid the hand flat in the sewer.

“Jason,
come on.” Gloria shouted.

“Alright.”
Jason said happily as he ran to the hand. He stepped on it and Gloria slowly
lifted the hand and brought Jason to the surface.

Gloria
exited the armor suit. They hugged in the moonlight and kissed passionately for
several seconds.

“You are
always the trouble, you know that?” Gloria said happily.

“You fit
that description better than me.” Jason chuckled.

They
both laughed loudly.

Hundreds
of people were gazing at them. Some of them were sitting on the roofs; some
were stretching their heads out of windows and others were standing in the
distance.

Just at
this moment, Jason heard Lisania in his head.

“Jason,
I got our grandma. She is very weak.”

“Where
are you right now?”

“This is
the location.”

Jason
saw the coordinate in the brain.

“Alright,
I will be there soon. You take care of grandma. And...Find a piece of cloth.
You...need to cover your eyes and ears.”

“Why?”

“Trust
me.”

“Is
everything alright, honey?” Gloria asked caringly as she noticed Jason was
lost.

“I am
fine, just thinking about my grandma. She is not far from here. We need to get
her.” Jason said hastily.

“Sure.”

Jason
and Gloria went aboard the vessel. Jason was happy that he didn’t think about
Gloria when he communicated with Lisania. However, he wasn’t sure how long that
piece of cloth could cover the truth.