Chapter 45: My head is just spinning

Lucien glanced at him, and Jake expected the usual sneer. But to his surprise, Lucien’s gaze softened as he gave him a small nod.

"Thanks."

Goosebumps prickled across Jake’s skin. He immediately scooted away from him.

"Are you sick or something? Lucien O’Connell actually thanked someone without following it up with an insult?! Oh my gosh, someone, please pinch me. I must be hallucinating—"

He quickly shut his mouth when Lucien shot him a dark look, barely suppressing a laugh.

Everything was fun and games until Jake accidentally caught sight of a pair of gray eyes peering over Lucien’s shoulder.

They clearly couldn’t see, but the eyes were fixed directly on him, cold and predatory, as though they wanted to swallow him whole.

A chill ran down Jake’s spine.

It wasn’t just him.

The two Espers following behind him felt it too. A sense of dread washed over them, leaving their backs drenched in cold sweat.

The two only snapped out of it when Jake stumbled, nearly tripping over his own feet.

Lucien gave Jake a puzzled look.

"What’s wrong with you?"

Jake felt sweat trickling down his back. His eyes instinctively drifted toward Zephyr, but to his shock, Zephyr merely blinked back at him with a confused, almost innocent look.

For a moment, Jake wondered if he’d imagined those terrifying gray eyes.

Then he glanced at the two Espers behind him. The way they stood stiffly, their faces pale, told him he hadn’t imagined a thing!

Jake quickly composed himself.

"Nothing. Really."

But inwardly, for the first time, a sinking feeling settled in his gut. His sixth sense had always been sharper than the others.

And it had rarely been wrong. For a moment, he even questioned himself.

’Is this guy really just a B-rank?’

Yet, he couldn’t help but laugh at his own thought. No way, right? Jake had watched Zephyr’s Esper rank being tested himself. A testing machine couldn’t be wrong... right?

Watching Jake wander off into his own thoughts, Lucien narrowed his eyes.

’Did he figure something out?’

Lucien pursed his lips.

His suspicion was valid. After all, he had read the original novel, and he knew Jake’s intuition was always off the charts.

Jake was the one person on Erick’s team who somehow always managed to avoid danger, even when everyone else suffered.

The rest of their walk passed in silence.

They made their way through the narrow, winding corridors of the research institute. This time, no one stopped them. They had already cleared all the checkpoints on their way in, so even the Espers standing guard at the doors barely spared them a glance.

After a few minutes, they reached the lift and rode it back to the surface. Once they emerged from the underground part of the research institute, they all crossed through the facility’s above-ground section before finally stepping out through the front gate, unaware that Edwin had already contacted the Association to demand an explanation.

The old researcher even demanded that Jake and those with him be expelled from the Association, insisting that people like them had no place within the Association.

Only when the people from the Association promised to look into the matter did Edwin put down his phone with a disdainful grunt.

His aged eyes burned with malice as he committed Lucien’s face to his memory.

"Just you wait. I never forget a grudge, let alone let a test subject escape through my hands! You think you can take him away so easily? Keep dreaming. Soon, it won’t just be him. You’ll be here too, at my mercy!"

He licked his lips thoughtfully and wiped the dried blood off his face with a tissue.

"He wasn’t bad-looking, either."

On the other hand, Lucien helped Zephyr into the van parked outside the research institute, which was surrounded by dense forest. He first settled Zephyr into a seat before hurriedly climbing in beside him.

For this trip, they had taken one of the Awakened Association’s work vehicles.

Jake climbed in after the two and settled into the seat opposite Lucien and Zephyr, his gaze lingering curiously on Zephyr.

The other two Espers with them took the front seats, with one quietly sliding behind the wheel and quickly starting the engine.

As the van pulled away, Jake was the first to clear his throat and break the silence.

"Esper Zephyr, I think you already know what I’m about to ask, but I’ll repeat it. I have a few questions about the dungeon you were dragged into with Lucien. Just answer them as honestly as you can."

The instant he finished speaking, Zephyr, who had been holding himself together all this while, suddenly slumped forward. Jake instinctively reached out and caught Zephyr alongside Lucien before his body could fall.

Jake’s expression changed immediately.

"What’s wrong with you?"

Zephyr’s brows knitted together as he struggled to straighten himself. The pain was becoming unbearable, yet he forced himself upright and leaned against the van’s wall. His voice came out hoarse.

"I’m fine. My head is just spinning—"

He barely managed to get the words out before blood began trickling from his nose, startling both Jake and Lucien. Zephyr felt the warmth and instinctively raised a hand to his face, only for blood to spill from the corner of his mouth as well. A soft cough escaped him, leaving glaring bloodstains across the blue hospital attire he wore.

Lucien’s eyes widened. He quickly grabbed the tissue box tucked among the supplies in the corner of the van and shouted at him.

"Stop talking! You’re not fine at all!"

He pulled out several tissues and pressed them against Zephyr’s nose, his voice trembling with panic.

"Hospital! Get us to the nearest hospital!"

Jake was just as alarmed.

He turned toward the front of the van and shouted at the two Espers seated up front.

"Drive faster!"

The Esper behind the wheel pressed down on the accelerator, pushing the van as fast as he could. But as he glanced at the GPS, his strained voice came from the front.

"The lab is hidden deep in the forest, and there isn’t a hospital anywhere nearby. Even with the van, it’ll take at least three to four hours to reach the nearest populated area!"