Page 190
“I can’t! When the regulator is passive, its capacity is strictly limited. With the energy this unstable, it won’t have any effect!”
“Then it’s useless.”
“No! There’s an alternative… we must pair the regulator with a biological catalyst. Just like a lightning rod draws a strike and grounds it into the earth, a human body can integrate the energy into its electrolytic system and vent it into the air!”
“Into the air?” Krivan, who had been silent for minutes, snapped to his feet in fury. “That energy belongs to me!”
“Right now, the host’s energy is unstable. Even with the regulator, a catalyst might not survive.”
A cluster of dark clouds swept toward us, making everyone stagger. Even the white soldiers lost their balance. Another soldier spoke up, his voice cold and commanding.
“You are the citizen responsible for all of this, Miss Kern!” he yelled above the rising gale. “You should ingest the regulator, naturally. That’s the only reason you’re still breathing.”
“If I do it, the operation could fail. However…” Eleanor’s clone raised a finger, pointing directly at me. “…this woman is carrying the host’s sperms in her. Since Umbra is already present in her body, the regulator has a much higher chance of working.”
My face contorted, I blinked slowly.
“No, it’s been four—” Catching her sharp, warning glare, I cut myself off.
One of the white soldiers stepped closer to me. “Four what?”
The fact that the conversation had abruptly derailed into this made me turn my head away in embarrassment.
What did our damn sex life—our now non-existent sex life—have to do with saving Raymond’s life? I truly couldn’t keep up with Eleanor, or whoever she was.
“Hours. We slept this morning,” I murmured. I desperately wanted to believe this was actually part of her plan. She was trying to get Raymond to save me, though I couldn’t grasp her reasoning.
“And he gave you the regulator because of this?”
I had no idea how much they actually knew. So, I just played along loosely. “Yes. He’s an easy man.”
“Where is it, then? The regulator?”
I swallowed hard. I didn’t have a damn clue either. My eyes darted to Eleanor in desperate need of a cue, and my eyes widened when she subtly gestured toward her own neckline.
Oh my god, Raymond.
“My necklace. It’s in my necklace. A tiny microchip.”
Before my words could even settle, the thunder tore through the sky. The fog that had receded came sweeping back at full speed, as if summoned by an ancient force. This time, it surged higher off the ground, rushing straight toward us as. I squeezed my eyes shut against the blinding dust.
At the same time, the glowing sphere of electricity holding Raymond began drifting away from the cemetery. The soldier’s tight grip around my body vanished. All of them took off after Raymond in unison.
“All units, contact moving northbound!”
And I began falling at terrifying speed.
I shouldn’t have been surprised that they didn’t give a damn about a reporter. But still, I was completely unprepared for this. Realizing my mouth was no longer covered, I tried my luck one last time.
“Raymond!”
I doubted my scream even reached my own ears. But a second later, I felt something. Like an invisible, gentle hand scooped me up, veering me sharply to the right mid-air. Then, an electric shock surged from my fingertips and tore down my entire arm, ripping another scream of agony from my throat.
I managed to land without slamming into the concrete, but every inch of my body throbbed. I snapped my head up, and—oh no—Raymond was drifting further away. Trapped in that sphere, pursued by the most ruthless soldiers on the planet…
Can this day end already?
As I pushed myself up to my knees to chase after him, another sight slowed my pulse. Eleanor Kern was flying toward me on one of the flying-scooters exclusive to the white soldiers.
