CHAPTER 51: MALL ROBBERS

Silva arrived at the mall, he waited a bit and then another taxi pulled up, his sister and Peter came out of it.

"So what’s the plan, brother?" she asked, eager to know what her brother could have called her out for.

"Nothing major, just wanted to take you out for some shopping, whatever you want," he said. The two froze and looked at him.

"Uhm, brother, you know that everything at the Blue Star Mall is very expensive. They are one of the biggest, they have branches in every town of every zone," Ella said.

"Yeah, you would think they do that to make it more accessible to people, but it’s simply just a not," Peter said.

"Don’t bother about that, just head in and let’s get to it," he said. Ella looked at Peter, they both shrugged their shoulders and she took the lead.

"Hey, Peter, I’ve been meaning to ask. Your dad put you through all those special trainings and lessons while you were a kid, right?" Silva asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"I wanted to know something. We all live in what we call Zones, multiple Zones spread out with States and towns. Was it always like this on Earth before the gates began showing?" he asked.

"You’re curious about the past? It’s a depressing topic, to be honest," Peter said. They walked into the mall, it was massive, no, that didn’t even begin to start explaining it, it was humongous.

Inside it felt like a completely different atmosphere, cool and with a starry sky design on the roof that actually shined.

There was a statue right as they entered, a glossy blue star.

"Go ahead and start picking whatever you want, don’t hold back at all, Peter and I will follow behind," Silva said.

She turned, looked at him, made sure he was being serious, and then she started walking at a faster pace.

"According to what I was taught, the planet was a pretty good and decent one all that time ago, by the time the first gate opened.

The Alpha Gate is what it was called. I don’t know much about the gate, but it’s said that the Alpha Gate was the biggest gate ever known, and behind it came beings that could only be regarded with one word, demons.

Then there was also the mana influx. It mutated the planet, massive bodies of land deforming, shifting and changing. The great terraforming. All cultures were shattered, and everything that made the past the past was gone.

And by the time humanity got their hold, they changed the names to Zones. Not because it was cooler, it simply marked the safe points. The mutation didn’t only change the planet, it made it bigger, and so larger seas.

The Zones are the safest places on the planet, because outside there are gates extremely powerful, above and in the sea.

It’s even believed that the Alpha Gate, also called the Infinite Gate, is out there," Peter said.

The moment Silva heard the word Infinite Gate, some memories began rolling in his head until finally, he recalled a text he had seen on his father’s phone when he was young. It was a few days before they left, and he saw something about exploring the Infinite Gate.

’That’s where my parents went? The Infinite Gate?’

"Hey, but that’s all I know. Information about the past and things outside the Zone are very guarded," Peter said.

"No, that was enough," Silva said. He looked ahead and saw they were at a clothes shop. His sister rushed in and after a few seconds called for him. He walked in and she showed him a cute purple gown.

"This is what I want," she said.

Silva looked at it. "In this whole store, you only want that one gown?" he asked.

"Well, I was thinking—"

"Stop thinking, just shop," he said and pulled out a credit card from his pocket, handing it to her. "This has five hundred thousand credits, go wild." He handed it to her.

When she heard the amount, her hands became shaky. She didn’t want to collect it but he forced it on her and then dragged the also stunned Peter out of the store.

Immediately they were gone, a staff member who had been watching and saw when she got the five hundred thousand credit card rushed up to her.

"Young miss, please, let me show you the best we have to offer," she spoke in a happy tone and a wide grin.

Ella, who was watching her brother’s back as he walked away, subconsciously nodded and followed her.

On the other hand, Silva and Peter walked through the mall as well, and Peter couldn’t help but ask,

"Bro, where the hell did you get such money from?"

"I sold something worth a few millions, don’t worry, it was completely legal and it was Lady Elena from the Rising Phoenix," he said.

"Wait, what? You have met one of the stronger Awakened in the Zone? How the hell did that happen?" Peter asked.

"Long story, let’s just go shopping as well. This mall has an equipment store, a few I think, so let’s go and upgrade our gear a bit," Silva said and dragged him along.

They bought body armours of different kinds and a few more things.

Then suddenly an alarm blasted, someone had stolen something. No, not someone, a group of people, all dressed in black and wearing masks.

Silva was on the second floor, he saw five ropes descend from the upper floors fast and five men immediately zipped down with huge duffle bags on their backs.

They ran for the door, but then several security guards pulled up with guns in their hands.

Seeing this, the five men grabbed onto whoever was closest, and at that moment Ella was stepping out. The man grabbed her and held her in a choke, he pulled a gun and pressed it against her temple.

Immediately Peter and Silva saw this. Without hesitation, they jumped the rails.