Solflare: The Painter's Secret-Chapter 124: Paloalto

Leon took the book back from Liu Yan and raised it. The cover blocked Liu Yan’s face as she leaned closer, focusing on the sigils inscribed on it, the one she didn’t look at when she held the book.

"Bao Xiong. Stop it." Wu Ze screamed in a loud voice that echoed back like a nuclear blast.

"Bao Xiong. Enough!" both Wu Ze and Liu Yan screamed in the same sequence, silencing Bao Xiong.

Bao Xiong drew his hands back slowly, but his eyes remained locked on the book. He tracked it as Leon’s fingers curled around the edges of the book and lowered it.

’I lost this at the Shattered Land.’ The thoughts reeled in his mind as Leon locked his gaze on the book.

Leon adjusted his grip, fixed one eye on the book, and the other on Bao Xiong, ever ready to throw the book to Liu Yan.

In the instructor’s chamber, Hei Yung leaned toward the monitor, the very one capturing every action going on in the main bunker.

The video feed from the main bunker played every movement of Squad 7. Hei Yung paused the reeling video, then zoomed in until it centered on the object in Leon’s hands.

"What is that?"

He stared at the angular sigils that seemed to shift even in the still image. Hei Yung pressed his hand hard on the glass of the monitor. "It’s paused, why is it still moving?"

’Paloalto.’ The word, which was part of a classified file he’d handled, looped in his mind like a curse. He moved back, sat in the leather chair, then sighed.

His thumb traced the edge of his wristband. Then, a visual hologram of data popped up before him.

"Cross-reference visual data. Asset: Leon Storm. Object classification priority: Critical."

Hei Yung stared at the hovering data, squeezing his eyes shut. ’How does a boy from Dusthollow possess something that lords have died trying to claim?’

As soon as the thoughts faded from his mind, the memory of the battle that had been fought fifteen years ago flashed in.

The faceless man in grey robes, wielding a book of the same features, causing the ground to split open and the sky to burn, made Hei Yung’s eyes burn, promising to blast.

He closed his mind shut, exhaled sharply, then smiled. "Interesting," he murmured. "Andrew Storm really left something to replace him."

Outside the craft, its small tires extended from the concealed compartments and met the runway with a screech.

Smoke plumed out before dispersing in the chilled Agathan air as the mechanical hum deepened, fading in the whooshing winds.

With a guttural metal crashing sound, the hatch split open.

From within it, Bao Xiong was the first to exit. He spread his arms wide as soon as his boots hit the ground. He tilted his face toward the dawn sky, his blue hair whipping in the air as he whirled around.

Wu Ze followed. The tension in her shoulders eased as she inhaled and stepped past Bao Xiong, trodden toward the CODX building.

An Lang yawned. He rubbed the back of his left arm against his eyes, scrubbing away the remains of the restless sleep. He turned, fixed his gaze at the open hatch, where Leon and Liu Yan were.

"Well," he whispered. "At least I survived." A smile tore on his face as he moved forward. "Time to enjoy whatever life I have left."

He walked after Bao Xiong, his heavy boots hitting the ground like a hammer.

Inside the craft, Liu Yan unlocked her seatbelt and then stood up.

"Bao Xiong acts like the world belongs to him sometimes." She paused, turned her gaze toward the open world at the other side of the hatch, then leaned against Leon’s left ear. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"You showed him he is nothing. He won’t forget that." She pulled her head forward, then locked gazes with Leon. "Be careful around him."

She turned and exited the hatch, her words and low voice looping in Leon’s head.

Leon sat there, the book lying on his lap. ’How do I make it vanish?’ he thought, staring at the obsidian cover.

Then, the notification chimed softly in his skull as the chilled wind lanced through the empty bunker of the craft, seeping through his hair.

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

Treasurer Carrier Requested.

Configuring Carrier...

Leon blinked. "Treasure Carrier?"

The word felt unfamiliar, and yet he understood it with a weird sequence. He brushed his fingers across the book’s cover.

The panel in his vision popped up the moment he released his hands from the book.

[Awaiting Permission]

[Hide Treasure: Yes / No]

’Will it actually work? This seems like the notification when playing an online game.’ He thought, the memories of the online games he saw the other kids play when he was at the Alchemania.

"Should I trust this?" He squeezed his face, then blinked.

With the weight of the book in his hands, and the memory of Bao Xiong’s covetous gaze reeling at the side of the panel, Leon sighed.

"Yes."

In a flash, the book in Leon’s hands turned into white smoke, then vanished. He stared at his empty palms, flexed his fingers twice, then unlocked the seatbelt. "Is that it?"

He rose from his seat, stretched himself, cracking his bones, then moved a step forward. Cool but death-lingering air flashed on him, raising the strands of hair lying on his forehead.

He walked on the silent pathways, his black boots clicking on the ground with thud sounds, and his arms swinging in the air like blades.

Just as he entered through the main door opposite to that of the CODX, a new sequence of air flashed toward the still craft.

Blue fire blazed from all four sides from underneath the craft. With a humming sound and dust-splashing pressure, the craft heaved from the ground and hovered in the air for a minute.

Then, just as two-night birds dived toward it, it flew at full speed, vanishing in the dawn clouds.

...

Opening the closed door of the Madhouse, Leon saw Bao Xiong standing by the door, his face reddened with anger. "Where is the Paloalto?"