Reborn as a Mechanist with a God-Tier System-Chapter 300: Visiting an old friend
Later in the evening on that same day, at the outskirts of the city.
27th August, Year 714 A.G.
Whitewick Town.
This was a modest looking Town with similar-styled buildings constructed under the supervision of a concrete community plan.
The tallest buildings in the Town were 3-story and 4-story buildings.
Against the backdrop of Iron Reef, the Town that was close to the city wall seemed like a small garage beside the city.
Iron Reef cast a giant shadow that loomed over the Town 24/7.
This shadow was also a reflection of the fact that the capital city of the Freegrid Collective was committed to protecting the Town.
In Iron Reef, they call Whitewick the retirement Town because it was where most aging public figures and veteran soldiers who were tired of the chaotic life in the city and military retired to. It was far more peaceful and mundane.
The tallest structures in the Town were high-capacity turbine structures facing the East. They took in the fierce Eastern wind that blew daily, converting energy and mixing it with sophisticated ADE reactive cells to keep the entire Town powered and self-sufficient.
The road thinned with the city’s receding glow behind them as a smart luxury car drove across the scanty street compared to the city.
Compared to inside Iron Reef, the street was far less crowded with people and vehicles.
Out here, the air felt older and less filtered.
The smart car hummed past low concrete homes that were constructed with a not-so subtle preference for luxury until the street opened to a modest sprawl, revealing a luxurious 2-story building.
The building stood wider than the others, its blue paint was extremely vivid.
The balconies in the building were reinforced with metal braces, and cables ran along the walls, keeping power transmission and data transmission stable.
Laundry swayed on the upper rails, showing that this was a civilian home.
On the front of the building was a virtual holo-signboard that showed the identity of the patriarch of the mansion.
[Honored Colonel Garfield’s Home]
Inside the smart-driven luxurious car, Leon looked at the holo-signboard and whistled. "Wow, Colonel, it sounds so grand".
He chuckled with a big smile on his face. "He managed to rise 2 ranks before retirement, what an achievement".
Seated beside him, Ren Nora commented. "All those who survived the war that night were promoted, he and Kai became Lieutenant Colonels since then. And a few decades ago, I conferred them as full Colonels".
"If it was up to just me, I’ll confer them as Generals too," he chuckled. "But apparently there’s a protocol to follow".
"They deserve it," Leon leaned back on the comfy chair of the luxurious smart car. "I’ve not seen a lot of D Rank Ascended in battle yet, but the fight that they put up against General Murphy that night, it was special".
"They were locked in".
"I don’t think I can ever forget it, and I think it’s the first time in history that D Rank Ascended put their fears aside to directly challenge a C Rank Ascended in an open battlefield".
Ren Nora simply stared at the luxurious civilian home quietly.
He didn’t witness the battle directly, but over the years, with his Primordial Hacking ability, he already hacked into the crevices and annals of history to witness the battle that secured his life.
Leon finally focused on the luxurious civilian home too, then he grinned. "Honestly, if I was the one living here with my family, I wouldn’t visit you too. He’s living the life".
Seated beside him, Ren Nora simply snorted.
At that moment, Leon suddenly thought of something as he looked at Ren Nora sideways. "Instead of entering the normal way and alerting him of our presence, what if we sneak in to see what he’s doing?"
Ren Nora looked at Leon, slightly aghast.
Leon shrugged. "Chill out man, it’s an old friend of ours. There’s no need being all official about it, official is boring".
Well, Ren Nora easily folded to Leon’s persuasion.
With his abilities, it was too easy to sneak into the mansion undetected despite its state of the act cybersecurity features.
Of course, the only reason why Ren Nora agreed was because none of Garfield’s children were yet to come back from work, or that would have been invasion of privacy.
He was likely only indoors with his granddaughter, and they were right.
Inside the compound, there was a large yard with a swimming pool and multiple lounge chairs for relaxation.
It was all quiet by this time of the day as the duo snuck in.
And just as they arrived in front of the door, they heard sounds which made them pause and listen.
"PJ Masks... PJ Masks..."
"PJ Masks... PJ Masks..."
2 voices, one young, loud and exuberant, the other deep, croaked and old sang from inside the house.
Ren Nora and Leon froze.
They looked at each other with a look of disbelief on their face, then they both took a step forward and Ren Nora grabbed the handle of the door.
Click!
The door opened with a quiet click and they snuck inside the living room, then they were flabbergasted.
There were 2 people in the living room.
Of the 2, one was a man who age was clearly catching up on already. He stood broad and weathered at the center of the sitting room as his age carried in the slight stiffness of his shoulders and the quiet weight of his movements.
Time had thickened him rather than worn him down.
His hair, once dark had given way to uneven gray, and his beard was trimmed short but without precision.
Lines cut deep across his face, not just from years but from decisions that had stayed with him.
And yet...
He was wearing a colorful bright green suit.
It stretched a little awkwardly across his frame, clearly not made with someone like him in mind.
The fabric clung where it shouldn’t and folded where it couldn’t quite keep up, it was a child’s idea of a superhero scaled up without compromise.
A soft, cartoonish tail hung behind him, slightly crooked.
He wore a mask too. The mask, green, wide-eyed, and far too cheerful rested pushed up on his forehead, exposing his tired but patient eyes.
He didn’t even look ridiculous, he looked committed.
In front of him, darting from one end of the living room to the other excitedly was his granddaughter, Chloe.
Unlike his, her costume fit perfectly- sleek red with feathered patterns catching the light when she moved.
The mask framed her face perfectly, leaving her eyes bright and alive, sharper than anything else in the room.
She leapt from a low table to the arm of a chair with surprising balance, her arms outstretched as if the air itself might hold her.
"Owlet surveys from above!" She declared exuberantly with a voice that was clear and certain, clearly enjoying herself. "Gecko must secure the perimeter".
The old man nodded seriously as if receiving tactical instructions.
"Perimeter secured!" He said, lowering his voice into something steadier, almost theatrical. "No threats detected".
Then, she suddenly screamed. "Evil Catboy! Evil Catboy! Gecko, run!!!"
She turned to run as the old man also turned to run and that was when from the corner of his eyes he noticed the 2 silhouettes standing in front of the door.
He immediately paused.
Colonel Garfield looked at the 2 people that were standing in front of the door. He froze when he saw the person on the right, and when he looked at the one on the left, he squinted his eyes slightly in confusion before his eyes quickly lit up with a shocked flicker of recognition.
But then he froze again and looked at himself, at his costume.
"..."
Garfield’s aged face slowly turned pink, then morphed into a bright shade of red as he fiercely blushed in embarrassment.
At that moment, Chloe finally noticed the 2 people at the door as she ran towards her grandfather.
"Gecko, who are those intruders?"
"..."
"..."
"....."
...
[Congratulations to me and us for 300 Chapters! Thanks for sticking with me for so long guys, I truly appreciate the consistent support so far. Special mention to Shadesworn, r03n, and D4rkV1II4n, you 3 have been my biggest supporters. I appreciate the love. Thanks to all the others who’ve been reading and supporting the book so far too, I acknowledge every single act of love and support that you gave to the book.]
