GCLopes
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Chapter 85 - Nevada
🕑 Added 2024-11-12 00:58:38 +0000 UTC- Oliver -
"Hey there! Are you ready to train?" Katherine smiled as she extended the invitation, her eyes shining with renewed energy.
Before Oliver could respond, he noticed something different. Both girls seemed radiant, but there was something more in their behavior—an extra pulse of enthusiasm that did not go unnoticed.
Katherine was different. Her golden hair, which usually fell loosely over her shoulders, was now tied up in an elaborate hairstyle. Part of it was braided, highlighting a white strand that contrasted with the rest. Moreover, she seemed slightly taller, and an aura of confidence existed around her.
Looking at Isabela, Oliver noticed something similar. She also seemed taller, and her skin radiated a healthy glow. There was a vitality in her movements that hadn't been there before.
"Did you evolve?" he asked, surprised. The changes weren't noticeable, but there was something different about them that he couldn't ignore.
"Yes!" Isabela replied excitedly. "As soon as we started training seriously, we both evolved almost at the same time."
Oliver was impressed. He remembered that John had mentioned that both were close to a new evolution, but he hadn't imagined it would be so imminent.
"Wow! Nice work." He applauded, genuinely happy that they had reached a new level.
The two smiled, radiating satisfaction. However, Isabela quickly noticed that Oliver wasn't exactly the same as when they had parted ways.
"Hey! Hey! It can't be! I had finally caught up to you!" she protested, playfully stomping her foot on the ground. "How the heck did you evolve again?"
As soon as Isabela finished speaking, Katherine ran over to Oliver, focusing on his right eye. "How strange. Your eyes changed color again."
"It just happened when I was returning from Luna," Oliver explained, shrugging.
"How lucky," Isabela said, still surprised.
--
--
Over the next fifteen days, the trio immersed themselves in an intense training regimen. Although it wasn't as rigorous as the training with Nico, they knew they needed to give their all if they wanted to be on par with the other recruits. After all, they had lost six months trapped in prison, and time was not on their side.
Oliver pushed himself to the limit but still hadn't accumulated enough experience to acquire new enhancements. His status clearly showed how much he still needed to advance:
--
| Status Page
| User: Oliver [Nameless]
| Level: 4 [Knight]
| Experience: [180/800]
| Credits: 7,100
--
Finally, the long-awaited day arrived. Two days prior, the three had enrolled in the competition and received confirmation along with instructions about the event's location.
"Everyone ready?" Katherine asked before they left the building. Each wore the Academy uniform, with gauntlets adjusted on their wrists. They didn't need backpacks or supplies; everything would be provided during the exercise.
"Yes," Oliver and Isabela replied in unison.
Descending to the basement, they headed to the Yorks' private teleportation station. The process was quick and straightforward. In the blink of an eye, they found themselves in a public underground station. Climbing the stairs, they were greeted by the intense brightness of a legendary city.
"I never imagined I would come to Las Vegas under these conditions," Oliver commented, squinting under the scorching sun.
The star shone relentlessly in the sky, and the desert's dry wind brought back memories of Oliver's recent experience on Marea Alpha. The two girls smiled, sharing similar thoughts. They had never imagined visiting such a classic and symbolic place; although most casinos operate on Luna nowadays, Las Vegas still carries a nostalgic and timeless charm.
"It's a shame that the competition won't be here; I'd like to explore the city more," Isabela commented. "We still need to go into the desert."
The three waited for an autonomous car to stop so they could get a ride. They were heading to one of the NEA's bases in the desert—a much safer place than the middle of the city.
"I've never seen so many different uniforms," Oliver commented quietly to the girls.
More and more recruits kept arriving via the teleportation station, each wearing uniforms from NEA branches in some colonies. The boy tried to read the names on the uniforms, but it was hard to keep up. He had seen Venus and Callisto when two boys passed very close to him.
"How many people are there just in our class? Something like 6,000?" asked Isabela, trying to do the math.
"Something close to that," Katherine confirmed.
Oliver started looking at the streets, trying to spot any autonomous cars coming in their direction, but whenever one approached them, it stopped for another group of recruits.
"Not counting those lost on exams, but we have 44 training centers on New Earth. Besides the twelve colonies, that gives about 300,000 recruits?" Isabela calculated.
"More or less that, and there will be two classes since they're from the last six months. We must have more than 600,000 recruits in this exercise. I'm curious how they will do this," Katherine replied.
"600,000 will be tested in two weeks; This will be chaos. Shit, these cars take forever," Oliver said, frowning.
As if responding to his complaint, one of the autonomous cars stopped before them.
"Of course, one would stop as soon as I stopped complaining," he grumbled as he entered through one of the doors.
All the autonomous cars were identical. They looked like massive black monoliths designed to ensure maximum safety for their passengers. The design exuded both brutality and elegance, resembling a mobile fortress. The only detail on the car’s exterior that wasn't black was the white letters on each door displaying the MiliCorp logo.
The SUV waited for the three to be seated before confirming the destination.
"Destination: Military Base 45. Destination confirmed?" the car's AI asked.
"Confirmed," Katherine replied.
While Katherine and Isabela discussed what they expected from the tests, Oliver paid attention to the city around him.
His view was filled with glass and metal skyscrapers reflecting the mountains in the background. Higher up, he could see floating holographic advertisements and drones monitoring the road traffic.
In a few minutes, the car left the metropolis behind and entered the vast and arid Nevada desert. The landscape changed drastically, and the monotony of the endless horizon made Oliver turn his attention back to his friends' conversation.
"I think they might do something like a Battle Royale so that they can eliminate many recruits at once," Katherine proposed her hypothesis for one of the stages of the competition.
"Maybe, but it would be difficult to avoid incidents that way," Isabela considered potential concerns with the suggestion.
As the group continued talking, the car, with a precision only an AI could achieve, navigated the roads swiftly.
Finally, they parked in a line, waiting for their entry to be approved. The system's voice announced, "Authorization requested. Waiting for approval."
"We're almost there," Isabela noted, realizing how quick the trip had been.
The group stopped chatting to observe the base. To their surprise, hundreds of other autonomous cars surrounded them, almost forming a convoy—all moving toward the military base.
The base 45 rose imposingly and alien-like in the middle of the desert a few kilometers ahead.
The circular structure had dozens of entrances. Although the design seemed highly functional, allowing easy defense of the position, it was evident that the base had no cover. Instead, it resembled a massive steel stadium.
However, instead of simple entrances for spectators, there were external barriers, automated defense systems, and anti-aircraft systems pointing in all directions.
The base was impossible to camouflage in the middle of the desert; in fact, it seemed to want the exact opposite—to convey all the oppression and power that the NEA wielded over New Earth.
"They really spared no expense for these facilities," Oliver whistled upon seeing the blend of stadium and military installation.
"John explained that they've been planning to broadcast the exams for a long time. But after the last fiasco, the plan had to be rushed out," Katherine explained. "Bread and circuses—the Emperor needs new ways to justify to the public why so much is invested in the army."
"But doesn't the NEA protect New Earth?" Oliver asked.
"Yes, but for some areas of Earth, it's hard for them to understand that we're at war. Especially if there's good defense using Z Crystals," Katherine commented. "For many, the colonies are unnecessary, or it's almost impossible to remember them."
Oliver nodded. Even having visited some planets himself, he still felt distant from the colonies; imagine an ordinary person who, although conscripted, wasn't sent to the front lines. They wouldn't understand the need for the NEA.
As they reached the front of the base, the car began to decelerate and advance slowly. Gradually, one by one, they were cleared at the entrances and finally had to exit their vehicle to pass through the gate of Base 45.
"Welcome to Base 45. What are your names?"
