Chapter 76: Chapter 20.3
Jason slowly placed the poultice into small vials when he heard a faint echo in his mind. Placing the vials in his pendant, he took a step forward as the space around him distorted and he disappeared from the laboratory and into the hallway. As Jason appeared a shadow rushed at his feet and kneeled while holding a letter in her hand which he took and read with an impassive face and finally, he looked down at her.
"Impressive, it's only been a little over an hour … uh ..." Jason said while squinting his eyes, trying his damnedest to recall her name.
"Yinying," she answered with glowing eyes full of reverence.
"Right, Yinyang?" Jason muttered.
The shadow stood up and stepped into the light, her slanted eyes had a natural curve while her thin eyebrows and delicate face gave her an outstandingly beautiful feature. Her long black hair reached her shoulder blades and her full lips were naturally red. What really grasped his attention were the fanged teeth and cat-like irises she had. His gaze also lingered on her sharp ears which were pointer than usual.
"Yinying," she replied. "Xiao Yinying is my full name."
"Yinying," Jason corrected himself while muttering her name under his breath. "Station your true self at Sanctuary, you'll be my intermediate if I need anything."
"Yes, m'lord!" Yinying answered at once. She wanted to say something else but hesitated.
"You have questions?" Jason said emotionlessly when he saw her hesitate. "Speak freely."
"M'lord, you … you have not tried to regain control-"
"I'm not interested in 'lording' over you all," Jason interrupted. "Also, I don't truly believe you serve me."
"But you created-"
"I? I created nothing. That was my past incarnation who built this … place," Jason interrupted her again. "And it is he whom you revere, not me.
"But you're right, if I wished for it, if I focused my attention on it, then yes, I could become your 'Lord'. But I don't want to. I only want a normal life. Well, as normal as normal can be." Jason smiled faintly as he said the last part before he turned to look at her and his smile faded. "I'm only here for Helen and to use you and this place as tools, that's it. Maybe one day ... but not now."
Yinying said nothing and bowed until Jason passed her, she then began following the latter quietly. Claiming to be a follower of his previous incarnation, she had managed to track Jason years ago and persuaded him to allow her to follow him. And the main reason why he agreed and risked letting her know of this dimension was because of her knowledge of his curse, information he thought could aid him with Helen's curse. When this failed and Helen fell into a coma, he continued to allow Yingying to stay, provided that she looked after Helen. And though she wasn't allowed in the room, he had given her a crystal that helped her monitor her vitals.
Activating his powers again, Jason and Yinying entered through the portal once more. Once he was gone the shadows swallowed the hallway leaving only darkness behind. Arriving back in the Loft, Jason waved a hand to dismiss her, and she quickly vanished into the shadows, leaping from one building to another. Once she was far away though, she stopped and fiddled with a black stone that was hanging on a necklace. Yinying cleaned it gently with her sleeves.
"Soon mistress," Yinying muttered to herself. "You'll see him very soon."
***
In the Loft, Jason checked the time and realized that it was half-past eleven. Remembering his appointment with Melanie, Jason walked back to the balcony and, after checking the surroundings, he jumped over the railing and used his powers to create air streams on his back and hands, allowing him to fly. Once he was far enough, he deactivated his powers and landed on his motorcycle which was flying with its wheels spread out and it's turbine engines on. Pushing the handle that turned into a dual joystick, the turbine at the back accelerated the bike at such a speed that Jason reached the area closest to the outskirts of the island in a matter of minutes.
Right before nearing his target, Jason activated silent-mode and the spinning turbines that were screeching came to a low hum. He landed the bike atop a roof of the Feng Shui Buildings, a three-building complex that had overarching bridges connecting the three buildings together. Originally, the investor for this building wanted to create the most luxurious apartment complexes in the still infant Sanctuary, however, the creators of Sanctuary changed its design and built a dock on the nearby pier then. Soon after, other developers of nearby buildings were unable to continue funding their projects and this area eventually merged with the nearby Sumps.
"Great view," A voice behind Jason purred after he turned off his bike and straightened himself, preparing to get off. Two hands slithered and coiled itself around his neck as the girl behind him pushed her body against his and he could feel two mounds of elastic softness pressed against his back, even with his shirt on and he felt a faint tingling sensation when the figure breathed near his ear while whispering teasingly, "Feels a lot better too, right?"
"Melanie," Jason answered stoically while trying to not focus on her seduction. "Y'know it's bad for a single girl and guy to be so close to each other."
"Oh? And why is that?" Melanie's voiced moaned as she wrapped her legs around him as well. "It's just a -ah!"
Melanie shrieked lightly and pulled away from Jason after his body emitted a light current that shocked her. Moving away from his bike, which also zapped her, she pouted as Jason got up and finally turned to look at her. She was currently wearing her Phantom armour, which was composed of an under-armour that looked like a one-piece leather outfit and an armoured vest on top of it for extra protection. Her boots were above her knees and the guns strapped to her legs glinted when a strike of lightning danced overhead.
"See, I'm a timid person," Jason explained flimsily when he saw how upset Melanie was. "There's no way I'd have the courage to approach a Queen of Second Academy and one who's also a student of mine, might I add."
Yeah right. If you're timid then I'm the Queen of England, Melanie rolled her eyes as she thought this.
"I'm not even one of your students," Melanie replied. "I'm in the university curriculum while you teach high schoolers."
"Same difference," Jason shrugged. "Besides, can you imagine how many broken hearts would surface if people saw us together? I think the suicide rates in the academy would dramatically increase!"
Melanie giggled after hearing this, a bright smile on her face which was gleaming from the rainwater. She used a hand to swipe back her soaked hair and Jason couldn't help but admire her beauty for a second. Despite her curvy twin mountains, her stature which was barely five feet and thin, delicate features made her look like a teen. And in this rain, Jason had to admit, it made him imagine how she'd look like in the showers. Despite the intense workout he had with Elizabeth and the injuries he suffered recently, his libido reared up and a burning sensation rose in his loins.
"So, what did you need my help with?" Jason asked, steering the conversation away, as he tried to let to cold rain douse his lust.
"I don't need help," Melanie said. "But I thought you'd like to take this mission."
"Nah, I'm still injured," Jason pointed at his shoulder which was actually healed by now. "It's tingling like crazy thanks to the rain."
"I'm sure you'll be changing your mind soon," Melanie replied while tossing a hologram at Jason. "Recognize him? He was Mr. Cage, the combat instructor for the Academy before you joined. Turns out he was a turncoat for those mercenaries you killed."
"Huh," Jason caught the hologram and expanded it. He looked through the photos for a moment, remembering them as the mercenaries who wanted to kidnap Alina, the ones he killed in the construction site.
He skimmed through the mission briefing and frowned. According to the briefing, the Council suspected that there was a connection between the attack in the Heavenly Park and the mercenaries. Being an artificial island, there were only a few ways to enter illegally and the Council believed that the group responsible for ferrying the mercenaries was also responsible for bringing the Practitioners to Sanctuary under the Council's nose.
"Well well," Jason said after reading it. "Looks like those geezers are losing their touch. To think they let a gang grow into a smuggling syndicate that controls the whole western pier. Tsk tsk."
"Those geezers really are annoying," Melanie agreed. "I told them to poison the leaders of various gangs and take control of them. It's unfortunate that Ms. Graves was the first to be against my suggestion."
"Mmhm, it's a good idea," Jason mulled over Melanie's words while rubbing his chin. "I think I'll do that when - if - I'm bored."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone